Persona: Double Wild Card
by Valkyrie Elysia
Summary: Awakened on a train with no memory of his past and thrust into a supernatural murder mystery, the only thing he knew for certain was that the answers he was looking for laid in the power of his Persona. P3 Hero in P4.
1. Beginnings on a Train

**V.E.: Once again, I must have gone temporarily crazy for starting up another new story with a lot of thought on it, but other stories on the rise that feel that they require my attention more. I never wanted to be those authors that have a bunch of stories going that they never update. It's like neglecting my own children. I really wanted to finish my stuff, but I need a change and the stuff I'm working on right now has no end in sight.**

**And I have been thinking about writing this story for a while now. The idea of the protagonist of Persona 3 interacting with the cast of Persona 4 is just too tempting of an idea. Including with a certain individual that shares a rather uncanny resemblance to him….(Rubbing hands while giving off an evil cackle). Let's just say I am planning for quite the **_**meeting **_**later on.**

**I'm going to try and blend some parts of the anime with the game. Hope I don't get too much flame for that.**

**Quote: "Trains, like time and tide, stop for no one."- Jules Verne (Considering that both games start off on a train along with this fic, I think it's an appropriate quote to begin this journey.)**

**NOTE: There is a pole on my profile that relates to this story. Please go check it out!**

* * *

_Darkness. _

_Blank utter darkness._

_That was all he could truly feel, all he could really sense, other than the searing earth shattering pain that was pulling at his chest right now. There was also the pain like barbed wire that wrapped around his wrists and kept him from moving. Pain that he would have screamed at until his voice gave out, except it didn't seem he was capable of screaming. In fact, he wasn't even sure he had a mouth to scream with._

_They were constants to him, both the darkness and the pain. There was never one without the other. Whether he was dreaming or awake, this was his reality and he knew that it was his duty to bear it, even if the exact reason was a bit muddled in his memory._

_Then suddenly, without warning, the pain stopped. His chest lightened and the chains disappeared, sending him into a downward freefall. His senses braced to fall into the ground, to have what little left of himself to be destroyed completely upon reaching the bottom._

_However, he was surprised again as his falling slowed and strong arms caught him as he drifted slowly down. He instinctively nudged towards the being the arms belonged to, the comforting warmth relaxing him._

_Finally, a voice spoke, one that was strangely familiar to him yet he could not place where he heard it exactly. __**"There, you're free of the Seal."**_

_It was silent for a bit, as if the person who spoke was allowing him to catch his wits. Even so, he didn't quite understand what the man was talking about._

_An amused chuckled was heard and the being who held him spoke again. __**"That's alright. That is how it should be. In time, you will understand everything. Now, it's time to wake up."**_

_His thoughts were still confused as the familiar voice went on. __**"You have stayed here long enough, it is time to embark on a new journey. And perhaps at the end, you will not need to return to this place. Now, wake up."**_

_As the words were being spoken, his body felt a tug as if being called elsewhere. He conscious fade as he heard the voice speak one last time. __**"Wake up, Redeemer of Man."**_

* * *

His eyes blinked open before shutting quickly, the light hurting his eyes. Yet even as his eyes stayed closed he felt the faint movement of his body forward, the warmth of the sun aimed at him, and strangely familiar music playing in his ears.

Silver gray eyes opened again, slowly this time and once they adjusted to the light he got a look at his surroundings.

He was on a train, sunlight streaming in from his window seat, music in his headphones playing as the trip continued on. He turned his head towards the sunlight, looking out the window at the rather picturesque countryside of wherever he was traveling in with one thought running through his head.

Along with getting a look at his surroundings, he also got a look at himself through the pale reflection off the window. The reflection was that of a teenage boy with soft blue hair that looked like he just rolled out of bed and silver gray eyes. He was wearing a light gray double-breasted jacket with something hanging down from a strap and dark pants along with earphones covering said part of the body like he never took them off. _Where am I? Matter of fact, who am I and what am I doing on a train?_

About a second after he thought that, a song seemed to start playing through his ears as he touched the earphones over them. _"I will burn my dread…"_

Without thinking, his right hand went to strange device (he was pretty sure it was mph3 player) and clicked a button that turned off the music. He pulled his headphones down to hang around his neck as he took a better look at the train.

It seemed to be like any ordinary train with standard space above for carry-ons and plastered with colorful advertisements, at least from what his brain seemed to think since he couldn't remember any prior experiences traveling this way. He was just about to go back to staring out the window before he noticed someone sitting directly across the aisle from him.

A teen just about his age with pale skin, short bowl-shaped gray hair, and was hunched over with his eyes closed. He was pretty sure if the teen sat up straight he would be rather tall, at the very least taller than him. The unknown boy was wearing a black jacket and gray turtleneck shirt along with black pants. On the overhead above him, was a carry-on bag along with a small shopping bag next

The amnesiac teen titled his head in interest. _Wonder what he's doing on this train by himself? And what are the chances he's in the same position as me? Somehow, I feel that's very unlikely._

He shifted himself to get a better sense of comfort when he heard something drop from the other side of his seat. Turning towards the sound, he finally noticed a bag next to him that looked perfect to be slung over his shoulder.

Then he turned his attention to the ground where a thick manila folder was somehow still altogether. The blue haired teen leaned over to pick it up, opening the folder as he went back to sitting regularly.

The first thing he saw was a picture of himself staring back at him paper clipped to a huge pile of forms. Flipping the picture off to the side, he scanned the first paper and zeroed in on the name printed there.

Makoto Yuki.

It was a nice name, yet for some reason it didn't quite sound right. He went on to skim the rest of documents, flipping through them with speed as he leaned back into his chair for a comfortable reading position. _Transfer forms along with my transcripts form a bunch of different schools …Medical history, spent a year in the hospital being treated for some problem they don't specify….Apparently I'm entering a school called Yasogami High for my third and final year of high school in countryside Yasoinaba…_

Yet even as he read the answers he had been asking for, something felt incredibly off about having it all in one file. Not to mention none of it really clicked with his nonexistent memory.

At the end of all the documents, a single yellow post it note was stuck inside the file. The boy peeled it off to get a better look at it.

Amagi Inn.

That was it; no phone number, no address. The teen refrained from groaning. _Whoever put this all together is not making things easy for me…_

It was at that time teen across from him woke up from the dream he was having out of breath, drawing the blue haired teen's attention to him. Dark gray eyes settled after a few minutes as he glanced out his own window. Then he turned to the side where the other teen was and with reaction the other couldn't have guessed.

The gray haired boy's eyes went wide again, staring at him and glancing at the rest of the car as if making sure he wasn't seeing things.

Makoto (he needed something to call himself, besides maybe after he got used to it some memories would come back) merely raised an eyebrow at the reaction. _What's with him? You'd think he'd seen a ghost or something. I mean, I'm pale but not that much…_

After one more look around the compartment, the gray haired boy opened his mouth to speak before being cut off by the train announcer.

"**Thank you for riding with us, in a few moments we will reach our final stop Yasoinaba Station. Please prepare to exit."**

Whatever the boy was going to say, he seemed to have changed his mind as he got up to get the bags above him.

Likewise, the other teen also got up and checked above him just in case he had something else left to him. Finding nothing, he simply swung the bag over his left shoulder as he held closed folder in his right hand with the post it note under his thumb. Now it was merely waiting for the train to stop as he followed where the boy was walking to the doors of the train car.

* * *

_There is absolutely nothing here._

Those were Makoto's first thoughts as he looked outside the train station and got his first impression of Inaba. It looked like a typical small town in the country with nothing that impressive about it.

He was pretty sure the gray haired boy that was right behind him thought the same thing before he was called over by man's voice. "Hey over here!"

Makoto saw the unnamed boy walking over to an older man with dark hair in a red tie, holding his jacket in one hand over his shoulder as he waved him over. Next to him was a little brown haired girl in ponytails and a pink and brown dress.

The blue haired teen glanced around, but it didn't seem like there was anyone there for him. Stretching his arms, he looked down at the post it note before looking up again. _Well, might as well walk around and stretch my legs. Then maybe I'll ask if anyone could tell where this place is. _

Walking down the steps, he head off to the left direction and passed the small group and a girl that was just walking up but he didn't pay that much attention to. He did vaguely see the man and the little girl walk in the same direction before the man turned his head to yell something at the gray haired boy, but by then Makoto was out of immediate hearing range.

Walking around at a slow pace was quiet, even when he had walked far enough to reach what looked to be the downtown shopping district. Affirming the quiet country notion, there were very few cars driving around with a noisy engines, in fact he was pretty sure he caught a bicycle or two going by. _Overall, looks to be a sleepy quiet town. Still, the question remains, why am I here?_

He stopped at the gas station, noticing the same man and girl from the station nearby a car that he was pretty sure passed him earlier on the road. _Might be the best time to start asking questions._

Walking over to the man, he spoke for the first time in what felt like awhile. "Umm, excuse me?"

The man looked at Makoto with a scrutinizing stare, but still pulled off a pleasant tone as he answered. "Yes, is there anything I can help with?"

Makoto held out the post it note to the man. "I've never been here before and I'm looking for the Amagi Inn. Do you have any idea of where it is?"

The man's face relaxed at the question as he pointed down the road. "Hard for anyone from around here not to know where it is. Go down the street until you reach the bus stop, get on and it should be just across the street at the third stop."

Makoto nodded his head towards the man. "Thank you."

The man smiled in return, calling out someone in the street. "No problem. How're you feeling? Ready to get back in the car?"

The gray haired teen walked up from the streets, looking a little pale but otherwise okay. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"All right, let's hit the road then."

The boy then noticed Makoto, who's eyes widened as Makoto backed away. "Don't mind me, thanks again for the directions."

Turning to go in the exact directions he was told, he walked on but before he reached the bus stop a feminine sounding voice called to him. "Hey, you!"

Makoto turned around to see a girl he was pretty sure he walked past. She had short black hair, green eyes and was wearing a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie and a checkered skirt along with a black belt, and a fancy, golden buckle that resembled a heart with wings along with red black striped protective sleeves. She looked rather unfriendly as she held out her hand. "This dropped out of your pocket."

He looked at her hand to see a cellphone with a pink strap attached with a cute little toy figurine hanging by a pink wire. It looked a bit girly with the strap, but he was pretty sure that it must have been his phone. Either way, it must have held some clue that he was looking for.

The blue haired teen took the phone out of the girl's hands. "Thanks."

The girl just shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, all I did was just pick it up. Seems to be a habit of mine."

He looked at her questioningly, but all she did was walk away from him. Shrugging at her actions, he stuffed the phone with the strap into his pocket. Just before he turned to go back to walking, a flutter of movement caught his attention.

Not too far of where he was standing, there was a blue butterfly fluttering in the wind. It seemed like a rather odd thing to focus on, but strangely Makoto was pretty sure that he had seen it somewhere before. _Now if only I could remember where…_

HONK!

Quickly turning his head towards the sound, he saw the bus pull right up to the bus stop and open its doors to let several people off. He turned back to find the blue butterfly gone. _That's…very strange. Just when I think I got something, it's gone._

Then his body jolted with realization at what that sound was and sprinted towards the bus stop as it looked like the doors were about to close. "Hey, don't' go yet!"

His body sprinted as fast it could, the sight of the blue insect forgotten as he focused on the bus and the destination he was heading towards.

* * *

**V.E.: (looks over it) Well, I guess that's pretty okay for a starting chapter, I think. **

**Please please review! I just hope there will be people actually reading this.**

**See you next time, hopefully.**


	2. The Amagi Inn

**V.E.: Oh boy, it's been over a month since I last updated this story and a bunch of stuff has happened or come up in my mind. I'm going to address some of those things right below here.**

**NOTE, READ THE STUFF BELOW HERE!**

**Update Schedule: As I hope you guys/girls noticed, I have other stories that need my attention and I tend to update in a cycle. I'm breaking this cycle this time, but expect a wait before you get the next chapter.**

**Poll: I've only gotten seven voters (which has made it a tie at the moment) when I know there are more people reading this. If you're a guest reviewer, I'll take your vote in your review. This poll will be open until Yukiko is rescued by the group. The question is, **_**who should I pair Yu with? **_**The choices are Yukiko, Rise, and Marie. I'll explain why I only chose these three along with my other two pairings for this fic at the end of the next chapter.**

**New Persona 5 Trailer: I got to admit, I went into this trailer with no expectations, but was completely blown away. I'm a little worried how the trailer only seemed to show four characters, but who knows, maybe they'll be more people who join the party later in the game. I have no idea what kind of message or mythology this game is going to be tackling, but I'm really curious. More than anything, I think is going to be a darker game than Persona 3 or 4. The only other I know is that Atlus is currently kicking Square Enix's but! (PG version of what I was really thinking.)**

**Now then, roll the quote and on with the show!**

**Quote: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."- Edgar Allan Poe (This doesn't really ties back into this chapter, but overall I think it's a pretty cool quote.)**

* * *

Time was relative when it came to the Velvet Room.

While time may march on for its guests in between visits, the inhabitants of the blue interdimensional plane did not feel the effects of the passing seasons. Instead, time was measured in the specific guests that visited and the form the Velvet Room would take on for them. After all, that was the place's purpose; to help their guest on his/her journey.

As such, while it may not have been for as long between visits as it would be for their guests, the residents of the Velvet Room were left waiting for periods of time for their guest to return.

Igor mused on this as he set up the next reading, while Margaret sat patiently to his left (quite the contrast between her younger siblings' behavior). Even though he had already read the cards for Yu Narukami (their new guest), there was very little else he could do in the blue limousine form that the Room had taken (other than indulge in the selection of alcohol which he would do later). Besides, even though performing his readings multiple times for the same person usually yielded the same results, there were times that some of the cards would change, signifying a change in the guest's situation.

He turned over the cards going in the same order that he done not so long ago for the future wielder of the Wild Card.

_The Tower, a terrible disaster imminent. The Moon, hesitation and mystery. _

The hunched man with an overly long nose merely nodded at the results. It didn't seem like there were any current changes in store for his new guest than what he had already seen.

He was just about to dismiss his cards when something his attention that he hadn't noticed before.

A lone card face down on the plush velvet blue carpet.

The proprietor of the Velvet Room stared at the card for a few moments, his outward expression unchanged but nonetheless rather surprised. He was sure he had counted all of his cards together, never having dropped his cards before.

And yet…didn't he know better than anyone that nothing in this room happened without a purpose?

Turning to his right side, the pointed eared gentleman bended down to pick up the card.

His action didn't escape the attention as the blonde young looking woman's expression showed some surprise. "Master?"

Igor's expression did not change as he flipped the card to face him. For the longest time, he just stared at the card in silence.

Margaret spoke again, her voice with a hint of worry. "Master, is there something wrong?"

He didn't take his eyes off the card. "Interesting, very interesting…"

Then he turned to his assistant, his smile a little bit larger than before. "It seems as if we are going to accommodate more than one guest this time around."

The platinum blonde woman's face lit up with surprise and confusion. "Another guest? Who is it?"

Igor chuckled before turning back to look at the card. "Who indeed?"

_The Fool._

* * *

When the bus had pulled up to the stop Makoto was supposed to get off, the blue haired teen was NOT in a good mood.

After several minutes of trying every phone number (in which the letters for the names were replaced with strange symbols) he had in his address book TWICE, all of them had come as being 'no longer in service.' His potential lead shot down before it even began, he took one last look at the cell phone strap's little toy before shoving the phone back into his pocket.

The rest of the way there, he had taken another glance at the big file of documents. This time, he had taken a much in depth examination and examined the papers one at a time.

This approach had revealed a lot more details than the cursory glance he did on the train. Apparently, the reason he had moved around a lot was because his parents had died when he was young in car accident and he had been shuffled around between distant relatives ever since.

Makoto felt a bit mixed on this information. On the one hand, he felt a bit skeptical about how he had spent his life from home to home since he was about seven. _Am I really that difficult to deal with?_

But in regards to his parents…that felt right. Call it a gut feeling, but he was pretty sure that was one part of those files that was the genuine truth. There was a part of him that wished that he might have found a picture of them somewhere in the papers, but the only photo in the file was the one of himself. He gave a small sigh for his wishful thinking right before the bus pulled up to his stop.

After getting off and crossing the street, the blue haired teen finally took a good look at inn, not knowing what to expect.

The building in front of him had a traditional Japanese style, with about three or four floors (at least he was guessing it was). It looked very picturesque, like the quintessential Japanese inn. _Heck, maybe there's a hot springs to go with it._

Figuring that just standing right below the archway entrance wouldn't really move things along, he moved past the arch and opened the doors.

The inside of the inn was just as traditional Japanese style as the outside was, with a few touches. A lowered tile floor with above it a wooden floor with cushions and flowers in vases to welcome the guests, the straight path leading to the front desk. It was overseen by a woman who looked to be in her forties to fifties with black hair that was graying pinned into a neat low bun and glasses, in a pink kimono who seemed to be leaning over to write something down on some papers.

Makoto was about to speak up to get the woman's attention when she looked up with a tired expression. That expression changed to a friendly one as she called out to him, taking off her glasses. "Oh, welcome! Give me a minute, I'll be right with you."

The blue haired teen nodded, slipping off his shoes and carrying them on top of his file before stepping on to the wooden floor as he waited. When the older woman had put away the papers and her reading glasses and finally came over to greet him, he spoke calmly. "Hello, I'm..."

The woman smiled as she interrupted him. "Makoto Yuki, right?"

The teenager was somewhat taken aback by her forwardness, answering unsurely. "Yeah, that's me."

The older woman nodded and bowed slightly. "We've been expecting you, I was getting a bit worried whether you would make it today since you're supposed to start school tomorrow. I'm Sayoko Amagi, owner and manager of the Inn. Follow me please."

Makoto nodded and walked right behind the manager, the older woman chatting as she led on. "Your guardian made all the arrangements, though I don't know why he'd have you stay here in Inaba just to finish up high school. Most people who come here often have relatives to stay with. Your guardian mentioned you missed a lot school because an extended stay in the hospital, right?"

The blue haired teen nodded warily at the mention of a guardian, going with what the files had said for now. "Yeah, something like that."

The woman smiled as she went on before noticing and calling out to someone. "Well, I'm glad you'll staying here. You're the longest paid for guest we ever had. All of your stuff arrived here yesterday, I told the staff to leave it unpacked since I figured you would want to do it yourself. Oh, Yuki, come over here!"

A young girl came over from the right in a blue yukata. She looked right about Makoto's age, if not a bit younger. Long black hair, dark brown eyes, and gentle features; she looked at Sayoko Amagi as she waited for what the older woman had to say. "What is it Mom?"

Sayoko Amagi gestured to the blue haired teen and back to her daughter as she introduced them. "Yuki this Makoto Yuki, he's the boy I was telling you about earlier. Yuki-san, this is my daughter Yukiko. She's a second year at the high school you'll be going to so she'll walk there with you tomorrow."

The manager than turned to give complete focus to her daughter as she spoke next. "I'm going to be giving Yuki-san a tour, do you think you could watch the front desk until I get back?"

Yukiko nodded with a smile. "Of course."

Sayoko turned and motioned at the young man to follow her, which he did as they went off to the right. The two walked on for quite a bit while Amagi-san discussed the history of the inn and it's services. "This is a small inn, but it really works for this kind of a town. At the same time, it can be inconvenient when we don't have enough room during the busy season. Most of time, we have out of towners come for a business trip or a party so we the dining halls are used often. One of our biggest drawing points is our hot springs. Depending on the hour, one will be open to men and the other to women. Don't worry, there will a sign near them to tell whose turn it is."

The silver eyed teen nodded, taking in more of the Japanese décor. _Of course they have hot springs. __Probably should check them out later on. ._

The manger went on to ask something of him then. "Now, would you like your food brought to your room or do you want to use the dining halls with the other guests during the year?"

Makoto smiled tiredly as he answered her. "I don't mind the dining halls, but right now I just really want to get settled in and go to sleep. Could I just get to my room?"

Sayoko Amagi nodded in understanding as she gestured in the direction towards the elevator. "Of course, right this way."

The two walked on, but just as the older woman was about to push the elevator button, another woman that was the same as Yukiko's though more around the manager's age spoke to the woman in the pink kimono in a hurry. "Sayoko-san, thank goodness I've found you!"

Sayoko's eyebrows raised as she addressed her worker. "Kasai, what's the matter?"

"There seems to be a bit of a mix up in the kitchen, something about some of the orders getting swapped…"

The manager sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose before turning to Makoto. "I'll take care of it in a minute. Do you think you'll be able to find your room on your own, Yuki-san? It's on the next floor, Room 204."

The blue haired teen nodded. "I think I can manage that. And you can call me Makoto."

Sayoko Amagi nodded, pulling out a key card from one of her kimono's sleeves and handed it to the high school student. "Here's your key, if you need anything else don't hesitate to use the phone in your room."

Makoto nodded, grasping the keys in his hand (from the arm that wasn't holding the file and his shoes) and reaching over to push the elevator button. "Got it."

Sayoko spared one last smile for the new guest. "I'll check in on you in the morning. Have a good evening, Makoto-san."

She then turned and walked off with Kasai by her side, leaving Makoto to wait for the elevator to get there. It didn't take long for the telltale 'Ding!' and the doors to open revealing an empty elevator. Getting in and pushing the button with the label of **2**, Makoto shifted the things he was carrying to be more comfortable. When the doors did open onto the second floor, it seemed there was somebody waiting for it.

The person was a woman with short black hair and brown eyes along with lips tinged with red lipstick. She had a simple, but striking appearance with a white collar shirt, a black skirt, and black flats she seemed to have been tapping while waiting for the elevator.

She walked forward, bumping into the blue haired teen as she went towards the elevator and he walked out of it. "Excuse me."

Makoto nodded to her, turning to face her to do so. "It's okay."

She smiled at that before the doors closed, a light flashing above indicating she was going down to the first floor.

With that little encounter out of the way, the blue haired teen took a slow pace as he glanced at the room numbers to find his own. _200…202…here it is, 204!_

Quickly sliding in his key card, the door opened to a rather large room in the traditional Japanese style that he had seen throughout the inn. Aside from the room's décor (that included a large TV, a phone, and other things), there were several boxes laying around with a scissors laying on the table. _Must have been left by the staff for when I wanted to unpack._

Taking the scissors and leaving the file and his shoes on the table, he went over to the first box near him and sliced through the tape. He opened the box to find black school uniforms, on one side of the collar a pin for the Roman numeral three **III, **the other side seemed to have pin that was the school's symbol. _Must be my new school uniform, better lay it out for tomorrow._

Picking up the uniform and grabbing some hangers that were below it while leaving the scissors back with the opened box, Makoto walked over to the small closet that had opened just a crack. After hanging up all the hangers, he hung the uniform jackets and pants he had with still some hangers free.

Just as he was about to go back unpacking the boxes, he was interrupted by three rapid knocks on his door. Makoto made his way to the door and opened it to see who was there. "What is it?"

Standing there was a young girl that looked around Yukiko Amagi's age that was a little shorter, with pale skin, brown eyes, and hair that was a lighter blue than his which was braided and adorned with a hairclip of Chinese design. She was also wearing a light blue yukata that must have been the standard uniform for female workers at the inn. In one of her hands, was a plate with several rice balls on it.

She stood there for what seemed to be almost a minute in complete silence, staring at him. Then she handed him the plate which he took while she spoke in a monotone. "Here, the manager thought you might be hungry."

He nodded his head and kept his answer brief. "Thank you."

The girl nodded before she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Also, you're going to be needing this."

Grabbing it with the hand unoccupied with the plate, the teen glanced down at the colored paper. It seemed to be a coupon for half off a ramen meal at a restaurant called Aiya's. He looked up from the coupon as he spoke. "Is this some kind of a promotion the Inn does?"

The girl shook her head before going on to explain in her less than excited voice. "I only work here at the Inn occasionally. My main part time job is at Aiya's, I do the deliveries. It's down in the Central Shopping District, you should stop by as soon as you get the chance."

"Do you advertise to everyone talk to?"

She shook her head before she turned to leave. "I can tell you're going to be a frequent customer. Name's Aika by the way. Have a good evening."

With that, she walked down the hall towards the stairs instead of the elevator. Makoto gave her one last glance before shutting the door, giving a small sigh. _And I thought I was weird._

Putting the things he received on the table next to the file and his shoes, he worked through the rice balls as he unpacked the rest of the boxes. As he went on unpacking, he noticed very few individual items as most of the stuff seemed to be the books for his new school along with his ordinary clothes that looked rather plain. There were a few persona items, such as a very good looking violin in its case and a few books (the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes and a few novels by Edogawa Rampo), but none of the things stirred something in its memory.

Just he was thinking that, he felt a yawn coming as he covered his mouth just as it was beginning. _It must be getting late. Better turn in._

With that resolve, he went to put on a white and blue striped pajamas. He then crawled into his futon where sleep immediately over took him as soon as he closed his eyes.

* * *

_Fog. Endless fog._

_Makoto had opened his eyes to this type of surreal dreamy like world. The only thing he could really see was the odd bricklike red path below him, all the rest of his surroundings were shrouded in fog. As for himself, he seemed to be dressed in his new school uniform._

_He got out from his kneeling position to look behind him, finding a dead drop in the red path. The only way to go, it seemed, was forward._

_Stepping about as carefully as he could, all he seemed to find walking forward was more fog. As far as he could see he was the only person that was in this strange world of continuous fog. He thought about opening his mouth to call out for someone, but his mouth would not open._

_He had walked for quite distance and had figured he was the only thing in this fog period, when a voice coming from nowhere spoke. __**"Do you seek the truth…?**_

_He had stopped moving as he waited to hear the voice again, unsure of whether it belonged to a man or woman, whether to a child or an old person. After a few seconds of no answer, he resumed walking on the red bricklike path._

_Once again, after he had walked a distance the voice spoke again, seemingly coming from somewhere ahead of him. __**"If it's truth you desire, come and find me..."**_

_This time the teen didn't pause, only walking straight until he came across a strange sight. In front of him, a square that had squares within it with a red and black pattern. He put his hand to the square, the middle square opened up as the other squares turned and opened with it to make a doorway. Without any hesitation, the blue haired teen stepped through the door._

_The area was still foggy, but at the center of the area he could see the shadow of a person's figure. He walked as quickly as he could, before stopping at a short distance from the shadow at the sound of the voice from before.__** "So…you are the extra player in this game…"**_

_The shadow's hand raised to give a snap, a wave of fog coming at him so fast he closed his eyes and braced for the impact. As soon as he felt the wave pass, he opened to his eyes that widened in surprise to find a short sword in his right hand and his left hand resting towards his pocket where a gun was._

_Before he had any time to process a thought about this, the shadowed figure spoke once more, with the blue haired teen unable to pinpoint anything specific about it. __**"Now…let's see what you are capable of…"**_

_Without much thought, Makoto proceeded to lunge his sword at the unknown person._

_It seemed to hit as he pulled back and the person commented again. __**"So…you can still see a little despite the fog? How interesting….just like him. Is it because the two of you share the same power?"**_

_Not knowing or really caring about what the person was saying, the teen took out his gun, but instead of pointing it at the figure he pointed the gun to his head. Pulling the trigger, he heard a strange sound as another shadowed figure emerged. But this figure didn't speak or do anything to him, rather it seemed to hit the other figure with something it was holding._

_Instead of sounding angry or hurt, the unknown person sounded almost amused. __**"Very interesting…even without your memory you still put up a fight…But you will not catch me so easily…If what you seek is the 'truth,' then your search will be even harder…"**_

_As the voice said this, a crackle of red light glowed, surrounding the area with even more fog. Now it was so think, the teen couldn't see anything. Nonetheless, he tried to stab the person once before, but it seemed that his sword didn't hit at all. He once again shot his head, summoning the shadowed figure from before, but even that didn't seem to connect to this unknown enemy._

_Feeling a bit tired, the unknown person spoke again as if pondering something aloud. __**"Everyone sees what they want to…and the fog only deepens….Will we meet again...at a place other than here…?**_

_The being gave a chuckle at the notion. __**"I look forward to it…Redeemer of Man…"**_

_And as soon as that statement finished, the teen felt himself losing consciousness and whiteness of the fog turned to black._

* * *

Shooting up where he had been sleeping and throwing the covers away from himself, Makoto Yuki woke up in a cold sweat and was gasping for breath, only moderately aware of the sound of rain outside and the clock in the corner that flashed **6:30 am**. _What…the hell…was that?!_

As soon as his breathing even out and a sense of calmness brought by waking up calmed him down, he looked at his hands which promptly turned his panic up again but a little bit higher.

On the light sheets that he had been laid out on before, his right hand was grasping the same short sword that had been his dreams while his left hand was right over the gun, which now that he looked at it was pretty unusual looking but familiar.

It was taking everything in Makoto not to descend into full on panic for waking up with weapons that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Those thoughts were interrupted by several sharp knocks on the door that made the blue haired teen's body jolt in surprise. He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound as calm as possible. "What is it?"

It must have worked since the person knocking didn't seem to notice. "It's me, Yukiko. Umm…my mother sent me to tell you breakfast is ready in the dining halls. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll be right down."

"Okay."

As soon as he heard her walk away, Makoto looked down at the weapons again and sighed. _Okay, first I better stash these away where no one will find them. Then, I'll get dressed and head down to breakfast. And then after school, I'll figure out what I'm going to do with these things._

* * *

**V.E.: Great…over 4.2 thousand words. Why does writing always look simpler with a bare outline?**

**This chapter was the result of much blood….sweat…tears…and Diet Coke. Can't ever forget the last one. So please, REVIEW!**

**I hope to see you all next chapter, where the first day of school begins.**

**I'm Valkyrie Elysia, I remember it so you don't have to! (in case you didn't notice, I like the Nostalgia Critic.)**


	3. First Day of School

**V.E.: Remember what I said earlier about having to wait for me to complete my cycle before this got updated again? YEAH….I'm kind of breaking my word on that.**

**To be honest, I've been kind of hitting some roadblocks in regards to my other stories so I decided to focus on doing this update instead. I'm probably going to get skewered alive by the fans of those other works, but honestly I don't want to write like I'm going to the dentist and no reader want to read that kind of work.**

**READ BELOW!**

**Polls: As an update to the polls, I've decided to also accept the people who vote in their reviews with an account than just guest reviewers. I've currently got over fifteen voters now, but it'll still be a while before a winner is decided. So if you haven't voted before please do so now in your review at the end of the chapter. Now because I am letting you guys vote on this, I expect you to take the results (whatever they are) like mature adults. If the person you don't like wins, please don't complain about it. Or at least to me, I'm just tallying the votes.**

**Now let's get the quote on and move on to our blue haired protagonist's first day at Yasogami High! **

**PS: I was writing this while I was writing my new chapter of Paradox, so this took a little longer.**

**Quote: "Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."- Muhammad Ali (I think this is a quote that could describe the Persona franchise, but that's just my opinion.) **

* * *

Walking to school for his first day in the rain, Makoto Yuki felt both somewhat comfortable and rather awkward by the complete silence as he walked to school with Yukiko Amagi right beside him.

After stuffing the weapons he had woken up with into his closet and a rather hasty breakfast, the blue haired third year only had to wait a couple of minutes before the manager's daughter was ready to go. And since departing, Yukiko hadn't uttered a single word, leaving the only sounds to be heard was the fall of the rain.

Holding onto a navy blue umbrella that the girl's mother had given him (she said he was probably going to need it and it was a spare) and his school bag under his other arm, he was able to take a glance at the surrounding of where he was walking. True to the small country town appearance, he saw a lot of the rural surroundings and open roads that students were walking on. He was pretty sure he saw some of them in the same uniform as he and the quiet girl beside him and he was pretty sure he didn't imagine some of them throwing him glances and talking in low tone with each other.

Though somewhat irritated by the attention, Makoto supposed it was to be expected. Not only was he a new student, but he was a new student in a small town. It was the kind of place where everyone knew each other and were inclined to gossip quite frequently about anything of interest. A new arrival was just the sort of the thing, especially with the students of his school. More than anything, he was just resigned about it. _Maybe that file was right about moving around a lot and this is just me being used to it._

He probably would have continued the walk in relative until the black haired girl beside him finally decided to speak. "I'm…sorry…"

He turned to her, for the first time really getting a good look at her nervous face, a red jacket over her black school uniform, and the shifting stance as if she was wondering whether to stand closer or to stand farther away. He answered her questioningly. "What for?"

Yukiko seemed to look away, her embarrassment becoming much more obvious on her face. "I'm…not that good talking at talking to boys. Especially ones I don't know."

Makoto shrugged. "Don't be, it's actually nice to have a quiet walk to school."

His junior looked more than a little relieved with his words. "Oh….good."

The two went back to walking in utter silence, the rain letting up a bit as they went further down the path. It really was nice to have this kind of a quiet moment, in his opinion. Up until this point, he had been torn between wondering who he was and adjusting to his surroundings (He also had the chance to realize his core knowledge wasn't gone at all, it was just the things related to himself that were one big blank). It felt nice to just take a moment in, even if it was just walking to school in the rain.

"Umm…"

The blue haired teen turned back to Yukiko, who looked like she wanted to say something. He patiently waited until she finally did speak. "So, is this….your first time in the country? I mean, I heard you moved around a lot before the hospital…"

Having no concrete evidence to suggest otherwise, Makoto spoke to her straightly. "I think so…I honestly don't remember much about moving around. Don't really remember the hospital much either."

The black haired second year cringed, obviously thinking she had asked about something that was very touchy. "Oh….I see."

He made to put at her feelings at ease immediately. "Who knows? Either way, for what little I've seen, this seems like a nice place."

Yukiko nodded, a small smile on her face. "It really is. Of course, I could be biased since I've never really left Inaba, but its home."

Seeming to realize she had just spoken to a boy like it was nothing, her face reddened as she faced forward with embarrassment.

As the silence dragged on, Makoto sighed as he broke the silence he otherwise would have enjoyed. "Makoto."

She perked up at his voice, looking at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You can call me Makoto. I can just imagine how weird it would be if you had to refer to me as Yuki-san considering your name."

Yukiko relaxed at that, her red embarrassment starting to fade a bit. "I see. Thank you, Makoto-san…oh wait! It's Makoto-sempai, right?"

He nodded, his eyes noticing the Roman Numeral III on his jacket before he went back to her. "Yeah, I guess so. Funny though, I don't really feel like a third year."

She nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean, it always feels so weird when you move up. Like you've just gotten used to being where you were and suddenly it's over."

Makoto shrugged at her words. "I guess that's just growing up."

"I guess you're right."

Yukiko turned her head, smiling as she came to a stop. "We're here, Yasogami High."

He looked forward, much like when he came to the inn not certain of what to expect. The school looked to be a moderate size, considering it was out in the country. Overall, it seemed a pretty standard three floor main building that was for classes and a two floor building that was probably used for clubs and the like.

Yukiko interrupted his thoughts. "I suppose it's pretty small compared to where you've been before."

Makoto shrugged. "It'll do."

The two resumed walking then, up through the school gates and right to the doors. Past that, was the common areas for shoe lockers and the stairs to get to the second and third floors. Several students seemed to be standing about, whether putting away their shoes or talking to friends. The inside pf the school looked about as standard to the teen as the outside had.

Yukiko stopped by one of the lockers, quickly changing her shoes as she spoke to him. "I better hurry to my class. Anything you'd like to ask me before I go?"

Makoto smiled as he found an empty locker of his own, slipping his outdoor shoes into it while slipping his indoor shoes from his bag. "Can you point out to where the faculty office is? I think I can take it from there."

Yukiko pointed to the right hallway before the stairs. "Go down that way, its the second door on the right."

He nodded to her thanks as he got up on the wooden floor with his bag by his side. "Thanks."

Yukiko called after him with a smile. "See you later….Makoto-sempai."

The blue haired teen smiled at bit at her good bye as he followed her instructions to the second door. He pushed it open, finding it to be organized clutter with having some spaces sectioned off (ne for each teacher he presumed) and every available space occupied with books, folders, papers, and some plants like a method of madness known only to the teachers.

Right in front of doorway of the office, he could see a familiar looking student talking to a man in a navy suit and a yellow tie that seemed a bit shorter than the student.

Makoto walked over, trying to get their attention. "Excuse me, I'm…"

The two turned to face him, giving him two surprises. The first was to find that the student was the same guy with the gray hair from yesterday, with Roman Numeral II on his jacket denoting him as Makoto's junior.

The second was what stopped Makoto in his tracks.

_Dear God, has he ever been to a dentist?! Forget just kids, that would scare the high school students he probably teaches!_

It didn't look like the teacher noticed as he began a tirade against the blue haired teen, his gray haired counterpart looking pretty tired of the man. "Shut your trap! Didn't your parents ever teach you not to interrupt a person when they're talking to someone? Sheesh, kids these days…"

Annoyed at the mention of his parents, he nonetheless kept his tone civil as he spoke again. "Sorry, sir. You see, I'm a transfer student and…"

That seemed to cause a bulging vein in the man's forehead, both teens shrinking back as his volume raised. "WHAT?! ANOTHER ONE?! That damn principal, dumping this on me with no warning! Honestly, I don't get paid enough for this! Bad enough I get one dropout from the city and now there are two of them! The class is going to be unbearable after this, especially the girls!"

The man went on, descending into a rant that seemed much more to the teen like the one you would keep inside your head (you know, the ones you wouldn't want to anyone to hear for more then one reason).

He leaned over to the gray haired student, his voice a very small whisper in comparison to the dentally challenged teacher. "Nice to see you again."

The younger teen seemed to be startled at being addressed, his eyes shifting as he answered. "Oh…yeah. Same here."

One of Makoto's eyebrows rose, wondering what was he so nervous about. He was pretty sure his appearance wasn't that unsettling. "What's the matter?"

The still unnamed boy didn't seem to want to talk about it. "It's...it's nothing."

Makoto stared at him, hoping for answer, but his attention was diverted back to the ranting teacher with a bob cut. "And here I thought I'd be able to whip the second years into proper shape! Its things like these that make my retirement seem farther than it is. Then again, if I retired, this school really would go straight to shit."

The blue haired teen seized upon a certain piece of information. _Second year? Guess he didn't take a good look at my uniform. I better clear this up. _"Excuse me, but I'm not a…"

The navy suited man pointed a finger in his face, his voice volume seemed to only be loud or louder. "WHAT DID I JUST SAY EARLIER ABOUT INTERRUPTING ME?! That's it! You're on my shit list, effective immediately! Don't think I won't suspend you for disrespect!"

Makoto sighed as the man ranted on. _And I thought our education system had problems already. How on earth did this guy get a job as a teacher?_

"Honestly, you kids think you have it SO hard. HA! In my day, we didn't have cellphones or the Internet. We actually WORKED hard for what we got, not goofing off. Why just the other day, I…!"

Before the teacher could go any further, he was interrupted by a woman's voice. "Mr. Mooroka."

The teacher snapped out of his rant as he addressed someone behind Makoto and the gray haired boy. "What?!"

"I believe that's quite enough. We want to welcome the new students, not scare them off."

Makoto turned around to find yet another strange sight greeting him. The speaker was a young woman in her twenties dressed formally enough, but was wearing an Egyptian headdress that stood out like a sore thumb and seemed to have been carrying a shepherd's crook. He honestly didn't know what to say to that. _Are all the teachers of this school going to be weird looking?_

It must have been a common occurrence for the male teacher as he spoke to her. "What do you want Ms. Sofue?"

Sofue spoke, her voice almost queen like which might have been influenced by her choice in headgear. "I simply wanted to give you a reminder from the principal to welcome Narukami-san to school properly."

She then turned to the blue haired student. "Also, I believe this one is mine. Makoto Yuki, right?"

Makoto nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"I thought so. I'm Ms. Sofue, I'm the homeroom teacher for Class 3-1, your homeroom starting from today. I also teach world history to the other classes and years."

_Gee, I wouldn't have guess. Your choice in headgear made it such a mystery._

Morooka seemed to realize what she was saying about Makoto. "What, a third year! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

_You didn't exactly give me a chance to._

Ms. Sofue beckoned Makoto to go around Morooka's area. "I'll take it from here. My space is this way. If you would just follow me, Yuki-san."

Makoto nodded, moving past Narukami-san (probably his last name, the blue haired teenager thought) and followed the pharaoh lady to her space in the office. He vaguely heard the dentally challenged man ranting again with

She stopped at the desk and formally face him, her face looking friendly enough. "I apologize for my colleague. Mr. Morooka has his heart in the right place at times, but he tends to come off….rather strong. Anyway, do you have your records with you? Your guardian said you would be bringing them with you when you were enrolled here."

_There's that mysterious guardian of mine again. _Figuring it would seem weird if he asked her about it, he pulled out the files out of his bag. "Yeah, I have them right here."

The teacher seemed pleased, setting down her crook on her desk before taking the big folder that was in his hands. Flipping through the papers, she nodded as she took in the information. "I see….very good grades…you've lived in a lot of different places…"

The flipping stopped as her eyes seem to sadden at what she was reading. Makoto had a pretty good idea what she had found. _The information on my parent's death, no doubt. Somehow, I feel this has happened to me quite a few times._

Closing the folder as if there was nothing especially interesting and picking her crook up again, Ms. Sofue finally spoke. "I think that's enough for now. I'll be sure to take a more in depth look at it later, but right now we should really be heading to class."

Makoto followed her lead as the as they walked out of the faculty office. No one was in the school hall anymore as the two walked to the stairs. After climbing for less than a minute, the teacher and student arrived on the third floor. Following the teacher still, Makoto walked into a room with her and stopped as she did in front of a desk.

He simply wrote his name on the chalkboard (like it was a practiced habit) and then simply stood there as the standing students became seated and all of them becoming quiet as Ms. Sofue addressed the class before turning to him. "Good morning everyone. I'm Ms. Sofue, your new homeroom teacher starting from today. Considering I've had all of you in my class previously, I see no reason to introduce myself further. Before we get started, we have new transfer student. Please introduce yourself."

Makoto bowed to the class. "I'm Makoto Yuki, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Even with his head still bowed, he could feel the scrutiny of the entire class and hear what they were saying. "Wow, he's cute!"

"I don't know, he kind of looks bored."

"I knew the second years were getting a transfer, but I didn't know we were getting one too."

"I wonder why he came here. I mean, of all places?"

Before the muttering could get out of hand, Ms. Sofue spoke again and searching the class for open desks as Makoto came up from his bow. "Alright, that's quite enough. Now then, where should I…ah yes, Yuki-san please take your seat in the second row, the third chair from the window."

Makoto did as she ask, sitting down without much care for the stare of his classmates still being on him. He was the new kid, the oddity, and in a small town there were probably few of those. He gave it two to three weeks before they lost their interest in him.

The teacher then cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention as she spoke. "Alright, now I'm going to take roll so when I call your name, I want you to…"

* * *

"…And that is where we end for today. Normal lectures will resume tomorrow so be sure to get a head start on the material tonight."

As soon as Ms. Sofue said those magic words, some students rose up out of their seats to chat with their friends while Makoto simply breathed a sigh of relief. _One day down, now I just have the rest of the year to get through. _

Just before he could get up from his desk and leave the classroom, the bell sounded as an announcement was heard from the school intercom. **"Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classroom and are not to leave the school until further notice."**

The sound of the bells played again as the blue haired teen heard groans and talking between the students over the announcement, which he decidedly tuned out. Their teacher spoke to them as she was right in front of the door. "Please calm down. I'm sure waiting a little bit longer to get out of school will not ruin your day. Stay here until you hear otherwise."

With her piece said she left, leaving the students to their own devices. They probably would have continued talking aimlessly until the room heard police sirens going by. Turning his head to face the window as others were getting up to get a better look at a few police cars going by. _THAT does not sound like anything good._

Hearing similar sentiment expressed, but once gain tuned them out, Makoto was about to put on his headphones and pass the time with music when he heard a voice to his side. "Umm, Yuki-san right?"

He turned to find three of the boys standing there, the one in the middle wearing glasses looking at him expectantly. Overall, they looked rather generic that he wouldn't pick them out of a crowd. He answered, lowering his headphones. "Yes, do you need something?"

"You came to school with Amagi-san, right? Yukiko Amagi."

He nodded. "Yeah, what of it?"

The glasses continued the talk looking a bit fluster as the ones by his side seemed to be looking at him intently. "What…what's your relationship with Amagi-san? I mean, speaking as one classmate to another…"

Makoto where this was going and answered bluntly. "I'm staying at her family's inn for the year, her mother asked her to walk to me school. That's it."

Seemingly pleased by this information, the guy in the glasses went on. "Ah, so, you wouldn't know if she has a boyfriend or not?"

_Why do I feel like I've had this kind of conversation somewhere before? _"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

The boy on his right spoke up then. "Then you wouldn't have happened to have seen Mayumi Yamano there, did you? I heard from my buddy the other day she was staying at the Amagi Inn."

The blue haired teen's expression didn't change. "Who's that?"

All three of them looked shocked. "WHAT?!"

"You mean you don't know?"

"She's that TV announcer, the one that had an affair with a council secretary!"

He simply shrugged. "Sorry, doesn't ring any bells."

The three looked utterly disappointed. "Aw man, seriously?"

The guy on the left urged his friends away. "Come on, let's just leave him be."

He watched them go to the back of the classroom, putting distance between them. _So, I guess I'm only interesting as a source of gossip. My chances making of friends seems zilch to none._

It was at that point the bell sounded again as a second announcement was heard. **"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat…"**

As the announcement did repeat, Makoto heard the student's murmuring over it until it ended. He stayed seated, clicking through his songs for a while. Not really feeling like listening to any of them for the walk home, Makoto got up out of his seat and walked to exit the class. He headed over to the stairs and was just about to go down when he saw a certain black haired girl coming up. "Yukiko-san?"

Yukiko seemed to brighten and stop where she was when he called her. "Oh, I'm glad I found you Makoto-sempai. I was wondering if you would want to walk home with me and a friend of mine, since we're going the same way."

Makoto shrugged his shoulders, seeing no reason to decline. "Sure, why not?"

He followed the younger student down the steps, uncaring by the curious stares of some of the students as they went. After getting down to the first floor and switching out their shoes, the two walked out the door were two students were waiting for them.

The first was a girl with short brown hair in a green jacket, wearing socks with her shoes instead of tights like Yukiko. In fact, she looked like quite the contrast next to Yukiko, but that didn't mean that was bad, Overall, she looked like someone who was pretty nice.

The second person wasn't even much of a surprise anymore, though it seemed to surprise Narukami. "You again?"

Makoto stopped, sighing softly. "This has been happening way too frequently to be a coincidence. I know it's a small town, but still…"

Yukiko and the brown haired girl looked at him as the former spoke up. "Oh, you two know each other?"

He shook his head at her question. "Not really, we've just run into each other a few times."

He stopped talking as the younger gray haired student offered his hand to him. "I'm Yu Narukami."

His senior hesitated before he began to offer his own hand. "Makoto Yuki."

The moment he grasped the Yu's hand, something in Makoto's mind…_dinged. _It was like a drop fell into the water, leaving a familiar ripple of sound behind. Something that felt on the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn't remember what it was for the life of him.

After the sound seemed to dissipate in his mind, he finally asked. "Hey…have we met somewhere before?"

The girls seemed surprised while if Narukami had any he hid it well. "You mean yesterday on the train or…?"

He shook his head, his soft blue hair moving with him. "No, no, before that."

The brown haired girl spoke up, getting the two's attention. "Hey, are you two having a moment or something?"

The two spoke in an almost monotone unison. "No."

That got the two glance at each other before resolutely looking in different directions.

Chie glanced between the two before introducing herself to Makoto. "Okay, well, I'm Chie Satonaka. You must be Makoto-sempai that Yukiko was talking about earlier."

Makoto nodded, the group starting to walk toward the school gates, himself walking on the farthest right of the side line they were walking in. "I guess you and Yukiko are friends?"

Yukiko also nodded, explaining their history. "Chie and I have been friends ever since we were kids. When I told her we had a transfer student, she's the one who suggested you come with us."

"Well, it's not often we get…."

"You're Yuki, right?"

The group of four turned forward and saw the person who had just interrupted Chie. He looked about Makoto's age, maybe older, wearing a different school uniform which was black with a green and orange emblem and a green tie. The boy had dishelmed hair, an ashen complexion, and a beauty mark under his left eye. But the thing that stuck out to Makoto the most were his eyes-pitch black with no visible pupils. Call it instinct, but he had an incredibly strong feeling to back away from him.

The boy spoke again, now that he had Yukiko's attention. "Y-you want to go hang out somewhere?"

The girl he was asking looked utterly confused at all this. "What? Wh-Who are you?"

The boy didn't seem to hear that as Makoto heard the voices from some of the boys behind him. "What's up with him? What school's he from?"

"Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move."

"I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out."

"No bet. Haven't you heard how difficult the Amagi Challenge is?"

It seemed like the weird young man had gotten tired of waiting for something as he spoke again. "Um, s-so…are you coming or not?"

Yukiko averted her eyes as she answered him. "I-I'm not going."

That seemed to not be what he wanted to hear. "Fine!"

With that one word said, he seemed to run away from the group and the school in anger. _Well, it's never fun to be rejected in public…Still, that was pretty weird. Not the weirdest I've had since coming here, but still weird._

Yukiko looked up to stare off where the unknown teen went. "Wh-What did he want from me?"

Makoto refrained from slapping himself. _She's seriously asking that? Then again, she might one of those people who are absolutely clueless about these kind of things._

Chie seemed to share his sentiment as she explained it to her best friend. "What did he want? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date."

That really seemed to surprise the black haired girl. "Huh? Really?"

Chie sighed before commenting on the encounter. "You really had no clue? Sheesh...But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden."

"Well, in retrospect, he could have also been talking to Makoto-sempai."

Makoto shook his head. "I'm pretty sure a guy I don't know would just address me by my last name without an honorific."

The sound of bicycle squeaked up from behind them as another voice joined the discussion. "Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?'

Makoto turned his head to the left to find a second year boy with a very old yellow bike. Short brown hair and eyes, with a determined jaw, the blue haired senior took special note of the headphones hanging around his neck before he realized the boy was speaking again. "Man, you're cruel. You got me the same way last year."

Yukiko spoke calmly. "I don't recall doing that."

That seemed to get the second year's hopes up. "Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime?!"

The reply was swift and blunt. "I'd rather not."

Makoto watched the boy's head sag down in defeat. _Saw that one coming. _The brown haired kid raised his head as he got over it.

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up. Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer students so much."

He mounted his bike and rode away, Chie calling after him in angry tone. "We're just curious, is all!"

Yukiko turned to both of the boys with an apologetic look. "Umm, I'm for dragging you two into this."

Yu didn't seem at all bothered. "It's fine really."

Makoto was about to say as much before he noticed quite the crowd that was gathering neat the gate. "Umm guys? Maybe we should hurry along…everyone's staring at us."

Chie nodded, noticing the same thing. "Yeah, let's go!"

Following her lead, the group hastily walked away from the school gate and on to the road.

* * *

**V.E.: I also wanted to do the crime scene this chapter, but I'm over five thousand words so I think that's enough for now.**

**Well that's all for today and I…oh, wait I said I would explain the pairings this chapter. Better do that before I sign off.**

**First off, I don't hate any of these characters. In fact, the Persona series has some of the most likeable characters I've come in across in a video game in a while (Take note, Square Enix). So, please try and as be as understanding as you can about my choices.**

**For Minato, it wasn't that hard of a decision. As awesome as Fuuka, Mitsuru, and Aigis were, Yukari was just a no brainer. I know many people consider her annoying, but hear me out. To me, this was the pairing that had chemistry OUTSIDE of their Social Link. From Minato's first fight to the hospital to the Love Hotel to the scene on the beach, these two had some pretty good moments together. Also in **_**The Answer, **_**aside from Aigis, Yukari seems to be most impacted by Minato's death. If the two of them had been romantically involved before he died, it would make the most sense she would be acting this way.**

**(Note: You might note I'm calling Minato in the Author's Notes while calling him Makoto Yuki in the story. I'll leave you to guess why that is.)**

**As for Yu, I couldn't narrow it down one girl, so I opened up the poll for you guys to decide. So why those three? I liked Yukiko when I first saw her and I think her Social Link was pretty good. Plus, considering Yu is practically the opposite of her (having moved constantly), I think that would lead to some pretty interesting conversations between the two. Rise may be flirty, but she does genuinely care about Yu and her scenes with him the anime were actually pretty nice. As for Marie, anyone who has played the game to the end would understand the symbolism of Marie and Yu together. **

**For Chie, like I said I don't hate her. I just prefer her chemistry with Yosuke better. There will definitely some hints between these two which may develop into something further. **

**As for Naoto, I really do like her and I like how she's probably the only person to ask about Yu than just focus on her own problems. Let's just say I have some big plans for her in this story involving our certain blue haired protagonist….and no it's not a pairing! Once I said that, a few might have guessed what it is, but I'll explain my reasons when it's revealed in the story.**

**Well, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to see you all soon!**


	4. A Murder Investigation Begins

**V.E.: Coming to this again? Honestly, still in a rut with my other stories. For some reason, I just want to continue Minato and the rest of this story.**

**There were votes than there were reviews last chapter. I know I should happy that a lot more people voted, but….I like reviews….A LOT….(Polls still ongoing though).**

**Well, let's just hope there are some more this chapter. For the record, it'll be a while before we get into the TV and deal with Shadows. Minato isn't really going to get involved until Yukiko disappears and even then it will take him a little while before he finds out where she's gone.**

**Now let's get this chapter on the road!**

**Quote: "Murder is an inherently evil act, no matter what the circumstances, no matter how convincing the rationalizations."- Bentley Little (Considering our murder mystery starts this chapter, this is probably a good quote to start it up.)**

* * *

"Ah…so you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious."

Makoto had a dry expression on his face as he listened to Chie's response. _So that's what she was so curious about._

Aside from the less than subtle questions that Chie had been asking him and Yu Narukami, Makoto thought the walk form school had otherwise been nice. They were going in a different direction from the way they came as Yukiko stated that it was good chance for the two transfers to check out the local hangout place in Junes, but the general surroundings were about the same. The small group had stopped to just chat where a rice field seemed to be on the right side of the street.

The gray haired second year spoke in a calm neutral tone. "It's anything but serious. I can't count the many times I've moved, but my parents thought dragging me overseas to America for just a year would be too much to handle considering I would have had to learn another language quickly and adjust to a completely different school system and culture. So my mother contacted my uncle to see if I could live with him and my younger cousin for the year and here I am."

Chie nodded. "That…does sound like it would be pretty rough."

Yukiko nodded in agreement, probably thinking of what that would have been like for her who had never left Inaba. "Yeah…"

Then the short haired brunette then turned her attention to the blue haired third year. "So what about you?"

He only raised an eyebrow at her request. "What about me?"

That seemed to make her only more insistent on getting an answer. "Oh come on, why are you out here staying at the Amagi Inn for a year? I mean Narukami has family here, but not many people from the city would just move here."

The silence was almost deadly as Yukiko eventually spoke up in a very uneasy tone. "Umm, Chie…I don't think you should…"

Her friend turned to her, confusion clear on her face. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Makoto sighed before he spoke then turned his attention to Chie. "It's alright Yukiko-san. I can answer for myself just fine. All I will say on the personal side Satonaka-san is that my situation leans a little more towards what you were thinking of earlier."

That made her flinch as Yukiko looked a little bit sad at bringing it up**.** Narukami didn't seem to have a visual reaction towards his words.

The blue haired teen went on. "As for the general side, I have absolutely no idea why I was sent here of all places to finish up high school. Now can we please just change the subject?"

The brunette nodded slowly before going back to a normal tone. "Yeah, sure. There really is nothing here, huh? That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside. Though there is something from Mt. Yasogami…I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous."

He took that all in with a dry thought. _In other words, nothing really interesting for most people._

Chie seemed to light up then, as if remembering something. "Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

Makoto noticed Yukiko blush a bit at her friend's praise. _Well, I knew the Inn was pretty well known, but I didn't know it was a tourist drawer. Then again, people do like to get away from it all sometimes._

The black haired girl finally added her own thoughts to the conversation. "Huh? It's…just an old inn."

Chie piped up in a cheery tone to counter that. "No way, it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure. It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday. Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."

Yukiko's face turned away, an undiscernible hint of emotion flashing for a few seconds. "I don't think that's entirely true."

He looked at her, the brief flash of _something _bothering him. _Why do I get the feeling this is a touchy subject for her?_

Her best friend didn't seem to notice as her tone changed from cheerful to sly. "So, tell me you two, you guys think Yukiko's cute, huh?"

Yu Narukami took only a second to answer, though not in an embarrassed tone, more of a factual one. "I think so, yeah."

Makoto shot a blank look at his junior. _Takes a lot of guts to say that to a pretty girl with a straight face. Then again…why do I feel like I would have answered like that at one point? I mean, speaking as a completely healthy straight teenage boy…_

Chie looked like the cat that ate the canary. "I knew it!"

Yukiko looked utterly embarrassed and Makoto was pretty sure she might have shot a few glances at Yu Narukami at his comment then her short haired friend. "Come on, don't start this again…"

Once again, Chie seemed to be boasting about her best friend against her wishes, though Makoto couldn't really fault her for her sincerity. "She's really popular at school, but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?"

_You know, I could say that one doesn't have to be a relationship to be a happy, but considering I'm talking to a teenage girl I should probably hold my tongue._

The black hair girl looked really distressed at her friend's words, glancing between Yu and Makoto. "C-come on, stop it. Y-you shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!"

She just seemed to realize what she was really saying as she tried to rectify her words. "Wait, n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend! Geez…Chie!"

Still saying silent, Makoto noticed her face growing redder and redder. _Well, that crushes those guys' hopes and dreams, yet I can't say I'm all that sorry…_

That got Chie to laugh as she seemed to be apologizing and explaining herself. "Hahaha! Sorry, I'm sorry. But this is our first chance to talk to people form the big city and you barely said a word!"

Chie's laugh melted off her face as she seemed to catch sight of something ahead of the group. "Hey, what's that?"

With that, she had gotten the whole group's attention and as she walked forward the other three walked with her. It took less than thirty seconds to get to what she was talking about, but once they did it froze Makoto (as well as the others) right where he stood.

A small crowd had gathered in front of a blocked off lane with a blue tarp spread on the ground right near a police car. However cool it may have looked to anyone else, all he felt was the utter sense of dread that had settled in his stomach. _This…is not good. AT ALL._

It was then he had caught wind of the conversation carried on by two housewives in front of him that seemed to have way too much time on their hand, but did provide some new information on the scene. "So that high schooler left, and as she came down this street…"

"Wow, who could imagine THAT hanging from an antenna!"

"I wanted to see it too."

"Uh, you got here too late. The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago."

That just made the blue haired teen feel even more uncomfortable. _Aside from how morbidly fascinated these women are with this and not knowing what IT is, though I do have a feeling, at least I know why they made those announcements at school._

Then his worst thoughts were confirmed by the next statement. "Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…"

It looked like the other three had the same opinion as him as Chie acted as the spokesperson of the group. "Wait…what did she just say? A dead body!?"

As soon as Chie finished her sentence, an older man that seemed to be one of the detectives and looked a bit familiar to Makoto walked over. As he scanned the small crowd, his expression focused on them as he walked over to their small group, mostly towards Yu. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

The gray haired teen answered calmly, not once glancing at the crime scene. "We're just passing by."

The man didn't look overly surprised before looking irritated. "Huh…I should have figured that'd happen. That damn principal. We told him not to let them through…"

Chie seemed to creep closer to Yu to ask him. "You know this guy?"

Just the gray haired teen nodded in affirmation, Makoto figured it out and spoke. "Oh yeah, now I remember, you're the guy who gave me directions last night. You're Narukami-san's uncle, right?"

The man seemed to recognize the boy as well then spoke again. "Oh yeah, I'm guessing you found your way alright then. And yes, I am. I'm Detective Dojima. Uhh…well, how should I say this…I hope you all get along with him. But you three really ought to stop wandering about and head straight home."

_We weren't really wandering, but I guess saying that to a cop would be just back talk._

His piece said, Dojima turned to walk back to the crime scene just as another detective made a dash for the grass on the other side of the road. And from the way he was leaning over and emptying his lunch, he didn't look too good. "Nghh…Uuurrghhh…"

The teenagers all grossed out, Dojima yelled at the still vomiting officer. "Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be sent back to the central office!?"

The officer, Adachi, looked up with his face looking rather green as he answered. "I-I'm sorry…Nngh…."

The older detective just sighed at his partner. "Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!"

Dojima then turned back and walked in the direction he had been heading towards and the formerly vomiting detective quickly followed him, leaving the small group on their own once more.

Chie was the first to break ice. "Was this what that announcement was about?"

The blue haired teen spoke in a deceptively calm voice. "Probably."

Yukiko also added her own musing to the discussion. "What did they mean it was hanging from the antenna?"

Makoto had mental image of that and he shut it down before he'd end up like that detective a couple of minutes ago. _Probably nothing we want to know in great detail._

The brown haired girl looked at Yukiko, her expression probably thinking along the same lines as his thoughts. "Hey, Yukiko? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?"

The black haired girl quickly nodded in agreement. "Good idea."

He quickly chimed in with his own agreement. "Seconded."

Chie looked towards the road that would take them past her home before going onto the inn before turning back to Yu. "Well, that's where we're heading. You going to be okay heading home on your own Narukami?"

The gray haired teen's answer was quick and concise. "I'll be fine."

Chie nodded, taking him at his word. "Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!"

The two girls walked away as soon as Chie said that, Makoto about to follow them before he caught Narukami's gaze.

He couldn't quite describe the look in those gray eyes, whether it was curious or suspicious or both, but there was one thing Makoto could figure out from that look.

There was something about him that bothered Yu Narukami. And considering the second year's temperament, he got the feeling it was something pretty substantial to warrant that kind of a look.

"Hey, Sempai, you coming?"

The moment between the two was broken as he turned forward before answering the brunette tomboy. "I'll be right behind you two."

Sparing one last glance at Yu Narukami, he turned and didn't look back as he caught up to the girls quickly.

Not knowing that the second year transfer student continued to stare for a few more seconds before going his own way home.

* * *

"What on earth?!"

Makoto surveyed the front of the Inn with a deceptively blank expression. _Took the words right out of my mouth._

After Chie having left them once they had reached her house, the two had continued the walk back to the Inn in relative silence. Neither of them particularly chatty after what they had just seen or being very talkative people, the two had just taken in the silence. For Makoto, it had been good to have that kind of time and had been looking forwards to having the entire evening full of that kind of quietness.

Those hopes were dashed as he surveyed the crowd of vultures that most would called reporters surrounding the inn, talking in loud tones and being anything but subtle. _What in hell is going on here?_

As if hearing his thoughts (a very scary idea in of itself), a male reporter with dark hair and glass looked up from his phone and spotted the two of them. "Hey, isn't that the inn manager's daughter?!"

The two teens shared one simultaneous thought as the reporters all perked up at the statement. _Uh oh._

Before the two could do anything else, they were set upon and surrounded by the news crews, the questions on rapid fire with the two unable to get a word in otherwise. "Amagi-san, what's your opinion of what happened?!"

"Do you think this incident will lower business for the inn?!

"We heard that the body was discovered near where you go to school. That must have been quite a shock!"

"How does it feel to know that someone who had been a guest in your Inn was murdered?!"

As the questions kept coming, Yukiko's expression was bother confused and upset while her senior was just plain confused by all the information being asked.

Luckily, the two were rescued as a familiar looking waitress rushed out of the Inn called to the black haired girl. "Yuki! Over here!"

Yukiko lit up as she saw her, even as the reporters kept asking questions while Makoto just looked confused. "Kasai-san!"

Without even really thinking about it, she grabbed his hand, dragging the two through the crowd and over where Kasai was. Once the two reached her, the older woman led the way back into the Inn with the calls of the reporters right behind them. It was only after the doors to the Inn were shut behind the three, did any of them breathe a sigh of relief.

Yukiko was the first to comment. "That was…."

The blue haired teen finished the sentence. "…too close."

It was then he looked down, finding their hands still intertwined. "Umm…Yukiko-san, you can let go now."

Yukiko looked down as she realized what he said, her face utterly crimson as she finally let his hand go and turned away from the third year in embarrassment

Kasai politely ignored the utter look of embarrassment on her boss' daughter's face as she took a deep breath to explain things. "Thank goodness you both are okay. At least that's one good thing in all this."

Makoto decided to keep quiet and let Yukiko do the talking as the girl turned back to look at the older woman, her face looking much more in control of her emotions. "Kasai-san, what exactly is going on?"

Kasai's expression was tired as she began to explain. "Well, I assume you two probably know about the murder."

The two nodded with Yukiko once again speaking. "Yes, we saw it coming home. Is it true that the person who was killed stayed at the Inn?"

The older woman nodded. "News travels fast in a small town, especially this kind of news. Apparently, a reporter heard the name from a police officer investigating the scene."

Makoto finally spoke up to ask a question. "Do you know who the victim is?"

"It was Miss Yamano."

While the blue haired boy only had a mild reaction of surprise of the name, Yukiko looked completely flabbergasted. "Miss Yamano! Oh no! How did they find out about her staying at the Inn?"

"You know the gossip that goes around town as well as I do Yuki, there were a lot of people who thought she might have staying here before this happened."

Makoto nodded to add to that. "A couple of the guys in my class were asking me about it, but I've never even heard of this Yamano woman before today."

Yukiko looked at him in surprise as Kasai didn't seem as much so. "I guess you really didn't get much news shown to you while you were in the hospital."

He answered nonchalantly. "Guess so." _A good enough excuse even though I'm pretty sure it's not true. Better stick to it though._

Yukiko spoke up then again with worry. "Wait, how's Mom?"

Kasai's expression was grew to be less tired and more worried. "Umm, Yuki…about your mother…she collapsed earlier."

Yukiko's response was that of complete panic. "WHAT?!"

The older woman was quick to reassure her before her own worries crept in. "Don't worry, your father called from the hospital a little while ago and she's doing fine. The doctor said it was just stress, but now we're in a bit of bind when it comes to the Inn. Sayoko was always so on top of things and I'm struggling to do what I can, but…"

Yukiko nodded, taking charge immediately. "Alright, I'll be taking my mother's place for now."

Kasai looked concerned while Makoto merely raised an eyebrow while the older woman asked. "Are you sure you can handle this Yukiko? I mean…."

The teenage girl nodded. "I've got the same type of kimono that Mom usually wears in my size, plus she'd been showing me the more specific details when it came to running the Inn since I entered high school. Now, how are the employees?"

Kasai looked a little surprised by the young girl's sudden 'take charge' attitude, but answered her. "Well, it seems like the news has spread and several of the part timers called in to say they weren't coming in today. So we're a little shorthanded."

Yukiko's face was grave at the information. "That's not good. What are we going to do?"

It was then that he got a thought in his head that he probably shouldn't have entertained, but considering that they were in a bit of a pinch and he didn't really have anything better to do this evening…"Umm…I could help out."

The two turned to him as he spoke more. "You do have spare uniforms, right?"

Kasai nodded as she looked uneasy. "Well, yes we have a couple of spares in the staff room, but it isn't really proper to have one of our guests working…"

"Think it of as a way of saying thank you for taking me in for the year. Though, some cash would be nice…"

Yukiko nodded before turning to the older woman. "I'll see to it you're personally compensated Makoto-sempai. Kasai, I'm going to go check on the kitchens. Could you show him where the robes are and teach him the basics?"

The woman answered with a bow of her head as she made eye contact with Makoto as she turned. "Of course. Follow me."

The teenage boy did as he was told, going past the front desk and way into the back to finally go through a door that Kasai opened. It looked to be a typical room with personal lockers with a few changing stations complete with curtains. He just stood around as Kasai went to a small closet in corner, talking as she searched though the objects within. "I really hope we have something that fits your size, Yuki-san. Practically all of our wait and cleaning staff are female, so we don't a lot of male uniforms. Still, are you sure you'll be able to handle this?"

The blue haired teen shrugged. "I won't know unless I try."

That prompted a small chuckle form the black haired woman. "That's a good attitude to have. Ah, here we are."

Turning her back to the closet and walking over to where the high schooler was standing, she handed him several stacks of what appeared to be solid darkish gray kimonos of several sizes. "You can see how they bit using one of the changing rooms. I'd take it you want some privacy."

He nodded. "Yes, please. I'll come out once I've found one that fits."

Kasai smiled in understanding as she head out the door with Makoto heading over to the changing spaces and pulling the curtain. Once he was sure the curtain was securely blocking him (even though he was currently alone, it would be pretty awkward if one of the female employees came in and found a teenage boy changing there), he started changing out of his school uniform.

However, just as soon as he had gotten his pants off, something dropped from one of the pockets and he heard a sudden CLANG! hit the floor. He looked down and bent down to get a closer look.

It was a blue key, with a strange picture of a man with half of his face in black surrounded by a white border with the background in black while the other half had a white face with a black border and a white background. It may have been a trick of the light, but he swore for a moment it _glowed_.

Picking it up in one of his hands, he turned it over as if it could give him more answers. _It really is pretty if your think about it, but what's it supposed to be for?_

Then a realization hit his mind. _Wait a minute, when did this get into my pocket?! I checked my uniform this morning and I'm sure there was nothing there, let alone this key!_

Staring at it for a couple of more minutes, he sighed and put it back into the pocket it had fallen from. _Well, at least it was a key this time instead of a gun and a sword. Still, I hope this is not going to be a recurring thing. I'll figure this key, __**and **__the weapons, out later. Right now, I better try these things on._

With that, he set his uniform off to the side as he picked the first gray kimono from the stack to try on.

* * *

**V.E.: Once again, I planned on doing more but this is as far as I can take it for this chapter. I guess that means I'll leave Dojima and Adachi stopping by the Inn for questioning along with Minato watching the news report til next chapter.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope you review.**

**Hope to see you all next time.**


	5. Questions and More Questions

**V.E.: Alright, I'll update this chapter then I'll start going back to my other stories. I don't think I've updated the same story three times in a row for a very long time. Then again, I do have a little more drive to do this story than my other stories right now. I know it's bad for a writer to play favorites, but if the will to write isn't there then it isn't there.**

**Plus, I wanted to have this as part of the last chapter, but word and length tolerance made me quit at the time. I apologize if it's a little on the short side.**

**Spring break is almost here. Granted I'll have homework to do, but maybe I'll get some writing in as well.**

**Also, because I love video games, as shown by this story and things I've said before, I gotta say, what the hell was that with the SMTxFE game! I guess I was expecting something more serious and dark, not so bright and pretty anime-esque. Heck, Persona 5 looks a hell of a lot darker than that!**

**On the flipside, the new Fire Emblem looks freaking awesome! Come quicker 2016(or better yet, sooner), I want to play all three stories and then write fan fiction on it!**

**Now on with the story!**

**Quote: "One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions."- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (I agree…within reason. Long story involving Senior Bible class and some very inappropriate questions.) **

* * *

"Yuki-san, did you deliver the order for room number 112?"

Makoto nodded, his voice heard over the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and the order going to and from.

"Already done. I also passed by Kasai, she needs another round of drinks in Dining Hall 2. The cheap alcoholic kind, not the more expensive ones."

The chef that had asked earlier nodded, going off to where the liquor was and leaving the blue haired teen standing around for a moment. "Thanks for the message, I'll get that ready for her when she comes here."

The Amagi Inn's kitchens were rather moderate size and while the appearance was very true to the traditional Japanese aesthetic of the rest of the _ryokan, _a good portion of the appliances and kitchen tools were updated for the modern times. There was always some buzz in the kitchen, whether from the sound of cooking food or the back and forths between the chefs and the waitresses.

Another one of the cooks came up to the high school boy, holding three trays filled with food, each stacked on top of the other. "Oi kid, take this room to 207. Be quick about it."

He took the trays quickly. "I'm on it."

Moving as quickly and as carefully as he could in dark gray yukata he was dressed in, the blue haired teen eventually made his way out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

Just a few seconds as he started walking down the hall, he saw Kasai-san walking quickly from the other side and called out to her. "Gave them the message."

She flashed him a grateful smile as she passed by. "Thanks Yuki-san!"

Makoto kept his eyes forward, the plates jostling a bit at the movement, but mostly in place thanks to his carefulness. He kept moving until he stopped by the elevator, pushing the up button for which the doors automatically opened. Walking inside and pushing the button for floor 2, he waited for the doors to close.

Once they did, he let out a huge sigh as his shoulder slumped, the plates on the trays rattling once again with the movement. From how tired he felt, he was pretty sure this was the first time he ever had a job. Kasai may have been a bit rushed when she gave him the run through, but it was nowhere near as easy it looked! Luckily, he seemed to have knack for remembering details so he hadn't made a mistake on what went where, but his mental state was starting to feel tired and the night was rather young.

As soon as he seemed to let out that sigh, the doors opened once again onto the second floor. A he walked out, his posture immediately straightened out as he carried the trays with care. He didn't have to walk far to get to room 207. Being unable to use his hands, he lightly kicked the door with one of his feet. "Dinner's here."

The door opened a couple by heavy set middle aged Japanese man dressed in one of the striped yukatas provided by the Inn. "Oh great, come in."

Taking great care with the trays, Makoto walked into a room that was a little bit smaller than his own and went for the table where two women were sitting in their own yukatas. Both looked very similar to the man in build and facial structure (he wouldn't be surprised if the three of them were siblings or something), giving the teen space on the table to set their trays down.

Once he set the trays how Kasai showed him to, he backed up to see all three of the guests. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

One of the women spoke up. "No. The food looks delicious though."

He bowed his head respectfully towards the guests. "Enjoy the meal then."

Having done his little job, he turned away from the small group to walk to the door and out again. Closing the door behind him, he made his way back to the elevator, pushing the down button this time. After half a minute or so, the elevator doors opened again and Makoto stepped in once again to make his way back to the kitchen for the next order. _Man, how do the others do this every day?_

As soon as that thought finished, the doors opened once again on to the main floor. Just as he took a few steps out of the elevator, a very familiar black haired girl in a pink kimono looked to be sighing as he did some minutes ago. "Are you okay Yukiko-san?"

The sudden voice seemed to make the girl jump in surprise, but relaxed when she turned to see who it belonged to. "Oh, it's just you Makoto-sempai. How are you doing?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine. How about you?"

Yukiko smiled, though the tiredness seemed apparent in her tight smile. "I'm…doing well. My mom has been training me to take over the Inn…so it isn't too unfamiliar to me."

He once nodded slowly, remembering her less than excited nature earlier with Chie on the Inn. "Family tradition, I take it?"

She nodded in affirmation. "The Inn has been in my mother's family for generations. It's practically my mother's life and like Chie said it really does help the town with tourists. We're probably one of the very few local businesses that haven't been hurt by Junes opening here."

He searched his memory for the name. "Junes….isn't that some big store? The one we were going to hang out at earlier."

"A big department store. Ever since Junes opened up, a lot of the shops in the Shopping district have been suffering. A lot of the older folks have been complaining about it ruining everything, but the fact is that Junes has a wider selection of items and tends to be cheaper. It's also one of the few places you can hang out in Inaba, you'll run into just about anyone there."

"I see." _I'll have to check that out later, who knows what I can find there?_

Yukiko smiled. "I'd say 'Let's go there tomorrow,' but with the way things are now…"

He understood what she meant immediately. "Your mom collapsed and you have no idea when she's going to be fine enough to run things again. It's completely understandable to help out at the Inn instead of doing that kind of stuff."

Yukiko nodded slowly, her expression a little bit troubled. "Yeah…it is."

Makoto didn't fail to notice the undercurrents beneath her voice. _Whatever I said, must have brought up something that is bugging her._

Just as he was debating whether or not he should ask about it, the two were interrupted by a very familiar sounding voice. "Excuse me you two."

The two turned to find Detective Dojima standing there looking very professional and right beside him was the detective that had been throwing up his lunch earlier, Adachi if Makoto remembered correctly who looked a bit goofy and a tad unreliable to be a police detective.

Yukiko was the one to respond to the older detective. "Detectives, may I ask why you're here?"

Dojima answered her question calmly. "We know that this was the place Mayumi Yamano was staying at. Mind if we ask you two a couple of questions?"

Yukiko turned to look at the blue haired teen, her expression somewhat concerned. "I understand me, but Makoto-sempai just got here yesterday. I don't see how…"

Adachi smiled as if trying to reassure her. "Oh don't worry Amagi-san, it's all just standard procedure."

His older partner didn't seem to want to try reassure as he spoke to Adachi. "Adachi, you can question Amagi-san while I take this boy."

Adachi seemed to shoot Makoto a look of pity while still smiling (which for some reason was starting to really irritate him) as he motioned for Yukiko to follow him. "Got it Dojima. Right this way, Amagi-san."

Yukiko shot her sempai one more look as she went with Adachi to answer his questions, leaving Dojima and Makoto alone.

The teen lazily faced the older detective, his words utterly frank. "What do you want to know? As Yukiko said and you know, I just got here last night."

The older man didn't miss a beat to start the questions. "Did you see or interact with Mayumi Yamano at the Inn last night?"

"First time I heard her name was today after school and I didn't even know she was staying here until I got back to the Inn."

That prompted a slightly puzzled look from Dojima to which Makoto responded. _Good time as ever to use some of that backstory. _"I've spent a good deal of time in the hospital and I'm not really up to date with what's going on. So I didn't even know who that was until a classmate clued me in. Besides, watching the news depresses me."

Dojima nodded, understanding but still on point. "Alright, what did you do last night? Did you see anything out of the ordinary or something that struck you as odd?"

_Not like the way you're thinking. _"Not really, I got to the Inn sometime between seven or eight I think. If you want a more exact time, you'll have to ask Yukiko's mother, she's the one who greeted me when I got here."

That seemed to prompt Dojima to get out a notepad, jotting down a couple of things before he looked back up at the teen. "Then what happened?"

"Amagi-san gave me a little tour, then I went to my room, unpacked a bit, got some food delivered to me, unpacked some more, and then crashed until morning." _The real strangeness didn't start until after I went to sleep and then woke up with a sword and a gun in my hands._

"Did Amagi-san show you to your room?"

He shook his head at the detective's question. "No, there was an incident in the kitchen she had to deal with. She handed me the key card and told me where to go."

"What's your room number?"

"Room 204."

Once he had it all jotted down, Dojima looked up to look at Makoto, his gray eyes looking him over so keenly that suddenly made him feel very self-conscious. _Well, like uncle like nephew I guess, but what is he looking for?_

He was saved from any further scrutiny by Adachi coming over in a rather cheery mood. "Hey Dojima-san, I finished up my questioning, you about done?"

Dojima turned to his partner with a little bit of a tired expression. "Yeah, I think we've gotten all we can here. Better head back to Headquarters with all this information."

He then turned back to the teen, jotting down something on another piece of his notepad before tearing it off and giving it to Makoto. "If you think of anything else, don't hesitate to call."

The teen took the scrap of paper, glancing to find a phone number on it, glancing back up at the detective to answer as he shoved the paper in a pocket(knowing he was probably going to forget about later). "I will."

With the teen's words, Dojima walked near Adachi and the two walked towards the entrance. Makoto didn't take his eyes off of them until the doors closed behind them on their way out. _Why do I get the feeling I haven't heard the last of those guys?_

It was then he remembered exactly what he should be doing. _Better get back to work, who knows what they need me to do now?_

* * *

It wasn't until his head hit the pillow on the futon that he laid out that Makoto Yuki (dressed in his pajamas and his uniform for tomorrow laid out nearby) finally allowed himself a great big sigh of tiredness and relief. _So tired…_

After laying there on the comfortable futon, he lifted his right hand up, the gleaming blue key held up to the light of the room. _Still, how the hell did this thing get in my pocket? And also, what on earth could this be for?_

Turning his attention from the mysterious key, his head turned to the closet where he had stuffed the weapons he had found in his hands this morning. _Well, I really don't have anywhere else to put those things. Might as well as keep them in the closet, it's not like I'll be needing them any time soon. As for the key, might as well keep it with me until I figure out what it opens._

With those thoughts settled, the blue haired teen sat up and his eyes found the television set. _Might as well see what's on TV._

Standing up and walking to the small table, leaving the key on the table as he picked up the remote and pushed the ON button. After a few minutes of channel surfing, he was about to give up and switch it back off when he heard something that piqued his interest. "Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb."

_Must be the news._ His finger moving away from the OFF button on the remote, he stood there as he decided to listen (he really did find the news depressing, but he also wanted to hear more about what was probably the murder investigation). "Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba."

The announcer then cut to the familiar school zone and brought up a picture of a young woman in her late twenties with short brown hair that looked rather pretty and for some reason struck Makoto as familiar. "The deceased has been identified as Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year old announcer at the local television station. The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed…"

The information being said nothing that he hadn't really known before, Makoto was more interested in the photo shown. _So that's what she looked like….strange I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, but today is the first time I've even heard about…._

Then something in his brain snapped as he remembered when he was going to his room last night.

_**When the doors did open onto the second floor, it seemed there was somebody waiting for it.**_

_**The person was a woman with short black hair and brown eyes along with lips tinged with red lipstick. She had a simple, but striking appearance with a white collar shirt, a black skirt, and black flats she seemed to have been tapping while waiting for the elevator.**_

_**She walked forward, bumping into the blue haired teen as she went towards the elevator and he walked out of it. "Excuse me."**_

_**Makoto nodded to her, turning to face her to do so. "It's okay."**_

_**She smiled at that before the doors closed, a light flashing above indicating she was going down to the first floor.**_

_Oh my God, that was her! First there were the weapons, then the key, and then the murder victim was someone I just happened to pass by on the way to my room. Am I really in some quiet country town or some comedy mystery slice of life anime?!_

He shook off his thoughts as he turned his attention back to the news program. "The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is accident or a homicide."

The teen gave a dry laugh at the possibility of the former. _Yeah, that's an accident and President Tanaka isn't a money grubbing son of a…wait, who's that?_

The news caught his attention back from that question and he listened. "A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plant to fully canvas the area are delayed until tomorrow."

That seemed to be the end for the news story as it quickly cut to commercial. The interesting bit over, Makoto quickly shut off the TV. Getting up to walk back over to the small table, he set the remote right by the blue gleaming key. Then he turned to the light switch, the room matching the darkness of night outside.

With all that done, he resolutely went for his futon and shut his eyes the moment his head hit the cushion. _Please, after all the weirdness, please let me have a dreamless sleep tonight. _

* * *

**V.E: I'll see how I feel next chapter Minato, though I am inclined to give you a break. After all, the REAL weirdness for you is coming soon enough.**

**I did warn this might be a little short, but hey I updated. Cut me some slack.**

**Now it hit me last chapter I may not have done a few explanations for you guys because I assumed you'd be familiar with it, but I really should have. So, I'm going to close out with a little clarification on a term used in this chapter and something I mentioned in the second chapter.**

**First, the term **_**Ryokan. Ryokans **_**are a special type of hotel that are exclusive to Japan. It's the type of Inn you're familiar to seeing in anime that are mostly in the countryside, often designed with a traditional Japanese style, and segregated baths which can be drawn by a nearby hot spring. I'm pretty sure this is what the Amagi Inn is.**

**Secondly, this goes back to the books I mentioned Minato unpacking. I'm pretty sure you all know who Sherlock Holmes is, but some of you might not know who Edogawa Ranpo is. Edogawa Ranpo, a pseudonym for Taro Hirai, was a major Japanese mystery novelist. I know it seems like an unimportant detail, but I will be going back to those books eventually.**

**Now that that's done, please review! It should be a while before I see you again since I've got other stories going, but I will get back to this!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. The Second Victim

**V.E.: It has been quite some time since I've last updated Double Wild Card, yet for some reason, I'm feeling a lot less guilty about it then with my other stories. Maybe it's because I updated that story several times in a row before I went back to Fate or Something Like It. Either way, I do feel a little bad that it will still be awhile before Minato gets involved with the Investigation and gets a step closer to the mystery behind the murders and himself.**

**Just to be clear, I will not be covering everything on a day to day basis. That would make this story a lot longer than it is already going to be and there will be periods for Minato when nothing interesting will happen even though things have been happening for Yu's group. Now let's skip ahead and get back to the story.**

**Quote:** **"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."- Harvey Fierstein**

* * *

_The moon hung in the sky bigger than he had ever seen before in a pale yet overpowering light, clouds encircling it as he simply looked up. After a few moments of gazing at the heavens, the blue haired teen finally looked down to take a better look at his other surroundings. He was standing on a black and white platform, more black than white and surrounded by black statues that looked like birds, most likely ravens. They seemed to be giving off some king of black energy, like feathers flying off from the wings._

_It was an eerie place, filling the young teen's heart with dread for what awaited him here. And yet…it also felt strangely familiar to him. Like an actor back on the stage where they had given their finest performance with their dearest friends._

_Friends….that struck a chord somewhere in his mind. Yes, he had been here before…_

"_**It's familiar, isn't it?"**_

_The young man turned to find a monster out of a nightmare or a creepy video game. An enormous black creature stood there with four great black birdlike wings attached to a black body that resembled something more human. The legs were shaped like a robot's as something that looked like black metal surrounded them. In his right hand, the creature held a very long and thing sword while his left hand remained free. Atop its head, a big black crown seemed to rest above wild black hair. The only part of the monster that wasn't black was the face, the pale white complexion with completely black eyes and an unsettling smile looked more like a mask than an actual face._

_Before he could wonder at the monster's appearance any more, it spoke again with a light tone that was both incredibly contrasting to its appearance and incredibly familiar to the young man. __**"This place where you and I met for the last time, where you and the others made your final stand. Tell me, do you recall what I said to you then?"**_

_The monster paused, gazing at the blue haired teen as he awaited his answer. It took a few moments to realize what the monster wanted and he straightened as he gave his honest answer. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I don't remember who you are or who I really am."_

_The being heard the answer silently before it spoke again, the tone somewhat sad. __**"I see, I suppose I should have expected as much given what has been done."**_

_He looked at the creature, his eyes sharpening with determination. "What do you mean?"_

_The creature shook its head slowly. __**"I am sorry, but that is something you will need to discover on your own. Very well, let me say those words to you once again: 'The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed.'"**_

_The words struck a chord within the young man, like a drop of water falling into a larger body creating ripples on the surface._

_The being's smile seemed less unsettling a more genuine as it spoke next, the voice kind as it addressed him. __**"It is strange how those words feel to me now. You have changed the fate of mankind, defeating myself and Nyx against impossible odds. And now you have been given the chance to change your own fate. But this time, you must do so on your own. The bonds you made back then cannot help you right now, though you may yet get them back. Right now, however, you must forge new bonds."**_

_As the being finished speaking, the platform began to shake, the pillars breaking up as the clouds encircling the moon began to dissipate. Wobbling from the tremors to where he was standing, he looked around with a small bit of panic._

_The creature flapped its wings, rising to the air which brought back the attention of the young man. __**"This will be the last time we'll speak until…well, you'll find out. I shall abide the rules of **_**their **_**wager. Please…take care of yourself."**_

_Just before he could yell to ask what the creature meant, the being flapped its wings and an enormous flurry of dark feathers seemed to coming right at him. His hands going to cover his eyes, he knew nothing more as the wave of black came upon him._

* * *

RING!

Sitting up and gasping for breath as if he had been drowning, Makoto Yuki found himself in very familiar position as his mind was coming back to reality. After a few moments of steadying breathing, he finally wiped a fraction of the sleepiness out of his eyes.

He turned to the alarm clock that had been provided for him, flashing **6:30 AM**, **4/15**. His mind gave an inward groan, feeling even more tired as he realized how little sleep he had gotten. _Not even five hours of sleep….honestly, why did that party have to go beyond one in the morning?_

For the past few days, Makoto had been helping out with the Amagi Inn after school. Most of the time, he was just taking care of the orders for the guests though he did have to once go in and help clean one of the outdoor baths. Most of the staff were pretty complimentary towards the blue haired teen, saying he had a good work ethic for a young man. But that party last night had been more taxing then he thought it would be though for some reason he felt like he had been through worse. _I might as well make up some sleep in class today. So far I haven't been learning anything I haven't already known. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I've got Philosophy with Morooka today._

Just as the reminder of dealing with that monster went over, his mind went back to the dream he had just woken up from. _That's the third time I've dreamt about that place, but that's the first time I've seen that monster there. It kind of looked like some ultimate final boss you would see in a video game. Maybe that's what it meant by 'final stand'? Oh, who knows? My dreams are just weird._

Looking back at the clock with a resigned expression, Makoto nonetheless got up out of bed and proceeded to where his uniform was. He dressed himself quickly, noting the sound of early morning rain outside.

As soon as he was dressed, he went over to grab his school bag, blue umbrella, and put on his shoes by the closet. At the same time, he glanced inside closet to check on what he had found on a morning not too long ago and rather similar to this one. _Sword and weird gun still there._

His mind satisfied once again they weren't figments of his imagination, Makoto went for the table where he would leave his room key and the strange blue key he had found not so long ago. He put both of them in his pocket without much thought and headed for the door.

Out his door and into the halls, the teen made it to the elevator without much trouble. After about a minute or so of waiting, the elevator came and he got on, pushing the button for the first floor. It didn't take long to reach the bottom, the scene one he was becoming used to as he went down the familiar path towards one of the halls where the Inn would serve breakfast in the mornings.

Right near the entrance of the place, a man in his forties to fifties a Western business suit smiled lightly as he saw the blue haired teen approach. He was a man of medium to small stature, with black haired peppered with some silver gray, along with a gentle expression behind thin and light glasses that were in front of solemn eyes. He raised a cup of coffee to the teen as he greeted him. "Good morning Yuki-san."

Makoto nodded his head to the older man, stopping to chat. "Good morning Amagi-san. How is your wife doing?"

The man chuckled lowly and knowingly. "Wanting to get back to work of course, but the doctors say that she should rest for a few more days. If all goes well, she should be able back soon."

Makoto smiled at the news. Though having been introduced the older man very briefly before having to deal with some chores around the Inn, he rather liked his quiet presence. "That's good to hear Amagi-san."

"Please, Jirou-san. I've never gotten used to being called Amagi. It's my wife's name and she's the manager around here. I just take care of marketing and our suppliers."

Makoto nodded his head to man before heading to the breakfast area, picking up a plain bagel. "If that's what you prefer Jirou-san."

The married man nodded. "Thank you. Though I must say, Yukiko is doing pretty good job with the Inn. I was a little worried of the idea of having her take over this spring, I thought Sayoko was jumping the gun a bit. I must say I'm glad to be proven wrong, but I'd still like her to finish up high school first."

The teen nodded along to what the man was saying, refraining from talking as he was eating his bagel.

It was then it seemed Jirou seemed to remember something as his eyes became more focused. "Oh, yes, you should probably go ahead to school on your own."

His mouth clear of food, the blue haired boy inquired further. "Why, is Yukiko sick?"

The father shook his head. "No, just tried. She went to bed so late, I thought it best to let her sleep in this once. She's been working so hard, she deserves the rest."

He nodded. "Yeah, she stayed up later than I did for that party. Well, I'm going to head school."

Jirou gave the boy a once over before he asked. "Sure you'll be okay?"

The blue haired teen shrugged nonchalantly. "Somehow, I feel like I've had worse. See you later Jirou-san."

With that said, Makoto turned away from the small area of food as he made his way near the front doors. Just before he reached the exit however, he found Kasai in her standard blue yukata waiting for him with a small box in her hands. "Glad I caught you Yuki-san!"

He smiled to the older woman as he took the box that was being offered to him. "Morning, Kasai-san. You know, you don't have to make me lunch. I could just get something on the way back to the Inn."

The woman shook her head. "Regardless of how things have been, you're still our guest. I don't think your guardian would be pleased if we left you to fend for yourself."

Still wary at the mention of his 'guardian', the teen nonetheless bowed his head in thanks. "Well, I better be off. Thanks again, Kasai-san."

His words said, Makoto turned to the door and passed through. Before he went any further, he put up his umbrella and shifted his bag and _bento _around so he could carry them easier. Once those things were secured, he started his trek to school as the rain pattered down.

For the first couple of minutes, the teen just basked in the sound of the rain, not a downpour but not a sprinkle mood suited him rather well, as nice of a person Yukiko was, it was nice to be able to have some quiet time to himself. _Finally, some peace and quiet._

However just as he was thinking those, the law of the universe seemed to strike as he saw the road up ahead as several police cars came into view.

Then for some reason, the teen just _froze_. It was as if some chill was creeping up his back, some utter sense of dread willing him to stay in place as the black and white cars passed him by.

Then the sensation passed with the cars out of sight. He shivered to himself. _What was that?_

For some reason, his hand went to his pocket, feeling the two keys there as if his body was trying to reassure himself of something.

After a moment or two, he was back to his normal self and proceeded to walk to school as normal as he was a few moments ago. _Please, please let whatever just happened be some sort of minor disturbance and not come back to affect later._

* * *

_The universe hates me. _

That was the thought that worked its way into Makoto Yuki's mind as he stood in the auditorium with the rest of his class along with the other two classes of the third years as well as the first years and second years. The school day had started out mostly normal with homeroom and by the time Ms. Sofue had finished roll call, the blue haired third year had almost forgotten the police cars and his own strange reaction to them.

Then the school intercom went on in the afternoon (waking him up from his small planned nap in Mooroka's Philosophy class) and called for everyone to report to the auditorium for a special announcement. That brought the feelings of dread from before back with even more force.

As much as the teen would like to believe otherwise, it probably was not a commencement assembly or something just as routine and boring.

Left with nothing to do but stand and wait, Makoto let his eyes wander around what looked like a pretty standard auditorium for a high school. Pretty much ignoring his classmates (who pretty much ignored him as they had found the ongoing murder investigation of the announcer more interesting than a simple transfer student), he looked forward until his attention was caught by a noticeable and familiar green sports jacket.

Sure enough, the owner was Yukiko's friend Chie who seemed to be looking down as her phone with a troubled expression. Standing right behind her, Yu Narukami seemed to be as calm as ever. Right beside him, was the brown haired second year with the bicycle and orange headphones that Makoto recognized from the first day of school. He, on the other hand, was the opposite of his gray haired counterpart, his expression obviously very nervous.

The older teen wasn't surprised the three close together, as Yukiko said that Chie had been hanging out with the transfer student quite a bit along with the guy with the headphones, which he had found out his name was Yosuke Hanamura from Yukiko.

It was then he caught the conversation of two second year girls at the front of the gathered crowd of teenage prisoners (I mean students). "Hey, did you see it yesterday?"

"Of course not, what is that rumor for real?"

"I dunno, but it seems like a lot of people have seen it."

The blue haired teen simply raised an eyebrow. _What on earth are they talking about?_

He turned his attention back to his underclassman, noticing Chie turning back towards the two boys as she put her phone away. Unlike the other girls, he couldn't hear what the brown haired tomboy was saying to them. The only thing he could see was that Yosuke seemed to be answering something for the tomboy.

It was then the sound system flared to life calling the attention of the masses forward. Standing behind the podium that had the Yasogami school symbol on it, Ms. Sofue (or Queen Tut as he had heard some of his classmates call her, not that he could blame them) stood there with a clear and authoritative voice along with her trademark shepherd's crook. Everyone's attention on her, the teen simply listened to his homeroom teacher speak with the help of the sound system. "Everyone, please settled down. The school assembly is about to begin. First, the Principal has something to say."

With her part said, the teacher left the podium and went to rejoin her fellow teachers off to the side (taking her place by one of the gym teachers). With that, a thin elderly man dressed in gray traditional Japanese clothing, thick dark glasses, and a rather tremendous beard took her place behind the podium. His voice was grave as it was filtered through the sound system to the whole room. "I…regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you. One of our third year student, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3B…has passed away."

Despite the utter concern and murmuring that were brought on by this announcement, Makoto only felt mildly disturbed. _I don't recognize her name, but then again we did have different homerooms. I wonder what happened._

The principal went back to speaking, quieting the students down and getting their attention back. "Miss Konishi was found deceased early this morning. The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police."

The dread was back as the third year thought back to the sirens form this morning. _So that was what those were about._

"If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you as students of this school, to provide only the facts.

The murmurings came back for a few moments before the principal called back their attention once again. "All right, please quiet down. I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident. So mind what you say, not only to the police but to anyone who asks…"

And any respect the blue haired teen had for the principal suddenly went out the window with those. _You know, when someone says that, you immediately think that there __is __something like that going on and they're trying to cover it up._

The rest of the President's addressed dulled as Makoto pretty much tuned it out. All it boiled it down were pretty much common sense stuff (report any suspicious activity, don't head out at night alone, don't talk to any reporters). If he thought he could've gotten away with it, the blue haired teen would have put on his headphones and turned on his playlist again.

As soon as the speech was over, Makoto stepped aside as he saw Yosuke Hanamura quickly walk in his direction in his efforts to leave the auditorium as quickly as possible. It worked as the second year was out the back door in a blur.

Curious and a little bit concerned, he walked up near where Chie and Yu were standing and asked. "Is he okay?"

Somewhat surprised at their sempai's appearance, Chie answered while the gray haired teen simply stayed silent as ever. "Yeah, eventually. Saki Konishi worked at Junes and his father is the manager. He...knew her from there."

He nodded as he got what was unsaid. "I see."

Chie then seemed to remember something. "Hey, is Yukiko okay? I mean, she said she'd be here after lunch but…"

The teen answered, trying and failing to hold in a yawn (apparently, he needed more sleep than he realized). "I think she's fine, her dad let her sleep in this morning because there was a group reservation with a party that went beyond one in the morning. I was helping out too, but I went to bed earlier than she did. She'll probably call you back later."

Those words seemed to do a lot to set the brunette tomboy's mind at ease. "Oh, thank goodness."

It was then Narukami piped up with his own words, uncharacteristically concerned for the blue haired third year. "Hey, are you going to be okay?"

This time he managed to stifle the yawn as he answered. "I just need some more sleep. I shouldn't have any trouble getting some considering I'm going back to Mooroka's class."

That seemed to bring some concern to Satonaka-san as she talked while the group of the three was moving towards the exits with the other students following suit. "Umm, you probably shouldn't do that. You really don't want to get on King Moron's bad side."

The blue haired teen 'hmphed.' "I was on his bad side before I even stepped into a classroom with him. Just ask Narukami."

Chie turned to her gray haired friend who affirmed it. "It's true."

The three proceeded out of the auditorium and into the school hallways together. Just as they were about to head up the stairs, the three were stopped as they caught another conversation being had between two girls near the stairs. "She died the same way as that announcer, right? That's so creepy…"

"Well, last time it was from an antenna, but this time she was hanging from a telephone pole. It's gotta be a serial murder case."

"Someone said the cause of death was some unknown poison."

"Unknown? C'mon, this isn't some sci-fi drama. Oh, by the way, did you hear? Someone saw a girl that looked like Saki on that Midnight Channel thingie."

Makoto felt both incredibly interested and very confused. _Midnight Channel…what kind of program is that?_

"They said she totally looked like she was in pain. Isn't that scary?"

The first girl didn't seem to take it too seriously. "Haha, sounds like someone had a nightmare. The media's been broadcasting their interviews with her nonstop, so maybe they just had Saki on the brain."

That seemed to be the end of the two's conversation as they seemed to walk back to their class, leaving Makoto with some new information and a lot more questions. _Well, that was odd. Why was Saki Konishi being interviewed by the media?_

Chie watched the two leave, her face a tad disgusted with them. "Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved."

Silently agreeing with her, Makoto was about to see if those had a better handle on what was going on before someone came up behind the three. "Hey, did you guys see…"

The small group turned to find Yosuke Hanamura there, looking less agitated and more surprised at seeing the blue haired teen with his friends. "Oh hey, you're that third year transfer student, Makoto Yuki right?"

Makoto nodded to him. "And you're Yosuke Hanamura. Yukiko mentioned you before, something about having a tendency to break stuff."

Chie seemed to remember something with those words as she turned her irritated expression on Yosuke. "That's right, I'm still waiting for my replacement for my_ Trial of the Dragon."_

The brown haired guy with headphones looked disgruntled before he turned his attention to the blue haired third year with his own headphones. "I'd said I'd replace it, and I treated you remember? There's some more important things going on right now. Hey, Sempai."

"What is it?"

"By any chance, did you see Saki-sempai before she disappeared? I mean, I know you're new to this school and don't know everyone as well, but still."

Makoto shook his head. "No, she was in a different class than me so I never met her. I might have passed by her in the hall, but I have no idea what she looked like. Today's the first time I've even heard of her. Sorry."

Yosuke shook his head, his expression a little depressed. "No, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Thanks though."

The blue haired teen took this opportunity to ask some of his own questions. "Why was she being interviewed by the media, anyway? And what's this Midnight Channel thing those girls were talking about?"

That prompted three incredulous and shocked looks form the second years while he only raised an eyebrow at them. "What?"

Yosuke was the first to speak, his deadpan tone to the point. "You're joking, right?"

Chie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, haven't you been watching the news or listening to the gossip around here?"

He shook his head once again at them aware of how Yu Narukami seemed to be taking everything in. "Not really. I've been too busy with settling in and helping out with the Inn after school that I haven't really been paying attention all that much. Besides, watching the news just depresses me."

The three younger students seemed to be looking at each other, as if debating what to say until Yu took the lead. "Do you know about Mayumi Yamano?"

The third year nodded to the question. "Yeah, I got interviewed by your uncle about it since I'm staying at the Inn. Not a pleasant experience."

Chie continued the explanation. "Well, Saki was the one who found Miss Yamano's body. She did an interview about it and the news has been playing it nonstop."

Makoto's expression morphed into a surprised one. "You're joking."

Yosuke shook his head. "Nope. The news didn't show her face and they distorted her voice, but that was Saki-sempai alright."

_That makes sense of some things, but not everything. _He pressed on further. "Alright, then what about this Midnight Channel?"

That seemed to cause all three of them to visibly flinch before Chie answered hesitantly. "It's…nothing Just this local rumor going around. Apparently, if you look into a TV that's switched off alone on a rainy night at exactly midnight, your own image will be replaced by someone else and that person will be your soulmate."

The third year went from curious to annoyed. "Seriously? And people actually believe that?"

Yosuke commented to that. "Yeah, that was my reaction to it."

Makoto shook his head. "That's got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of. Honestly, who takes this stuff seriously?"

That seemed to bother his juniors as they looked each other with some unreadable expressions. It was if the three were talking to each without any words being said.

After a few moments of utter silence, Makoto realized he wasn't going to get anything more from this. "Well, I better head back to class. See you later."

With that said, Makoto walked away from the three, but not before glancing back at a distance to find the three talking with each other covertly and looking whatever they were discussing was pretty important. _They're obviously up to something, but what?_

Shaking off that thought, he faced forward as he walked back to his class. _Oh well, it's not like it has anything to do with me._

* * *

**V.E: Right now it doesn't, but it won't stay that way for long. I can't believe I've managed to finish this chapter up while I'm flying home. Well, I guess long plane rides with nothing to do and you have to pay for Internet access are very good for when you just need ot focus on something without distractions.**

**Alright word check… about 4.8 thousand words! WHY THESE GOT TO BE SO LONG?! **

**I'm pretty sure next chapter is when Makoto gets involved with the mystery. I'm looking forwards to writing about that.**

**Just to be clear, poll's still open as are review votes. But please just review.**

**Hopefully I'll see you all next time!**


	7. A Disappearance into the Fog

**V.E.: Hi there, guys! It's been awhile. What can I say; school, other projects, I've been busy with a lot of things on plate. But I just got done my latest chapter on Paradox which means its Double Wild Card's turn.**

**I've also been more than a little disappointed in how few of the fan fics I read have been updated. Not to mention that the game I want doesn't come out until next year. For some reason a lot of good games are coming out in 2016, some of them being those who were supposed to come out in 2015 but were delayed or otherwise moved.**

**Last time we saw Saki's death announcement to the school. That means Yukiko's disappearance is not too far behind. And that my dear readers, is when Minato is really going to get involved with the TV world and the Investigation Team. And when Yukiko is rescued, I'll take down the poll which by the way thanks for the many voters! I won't tell you the results, but let's just say there's a big majority towards one of the candidates. **

**Well, I better not doddle here for too long. Let's get this chapter rolling! Couldn't think up a good topic for this time's quote so I just went with something that sounded interesting.**

**Quote: "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."- Plato **

* * *

Makoto heaved a heavy internal sigh as he entered Yasogami High that Saturday morning, closing his umbrella and going to his school locker to put the stuff he didn't need away. _School…the fastest way to tire someone out. I should have stayed behind and got some sleep._

However, when he had breached the idea that morning of staying back and getting some rest and helping out later, both Yukiko and Kasai urged him to go to school. As a guest, he was neither employed by the inn nor related to the Amagi's. Therefore, he should try and get the education that he should be getting. Jirou came around then, telling the blue haired third year that if he was still tired after school he could sleep the night and tomorrow away since it was. _I don't regret helping out, but man were some of those reservations at the Inn high maintenance! I should probably tell Yukiko I want to cut my hours helping out at the Inn. I mean, some of the workers were starting to come back and her Mom's coming home this afternoon…_

It was then as he was just walking up the steps to the third floor where his classroom was that he suddenly remembered what Yukiko asked him to do that morning. _Shoot! Oh well, I better give Chie the message this morning. I mean, the girl looked pretty distraught during the announcement. Still, it's not like she's going to go to pieces if she doesn't hear from Yukiko for one day._

Turning around, the third year headed back down to the second floor, looking down the hallway. _I think she said her room was 2-B. _

Finding the classroom quickly (partly because he remembered the room belonging to the ever memorable King Moron), the blue haired teen strolled there and went inside.

The room was mostly empty as it was still a tad early before homeroom would start, only a few of the kids were seated at their desks. Luckily, he saw the familiar green jacket and its owner talking to Yosuke Hanamura and Yu Narukami.

The brunet girl's terrified expression, made him pause, as she seemed to freak out with her phone in one of her hands. "S-she's not answering!"

Yosuke seemed to take on some of his friend's worry as one of his hands pinched the bridge of his nose before going back to its former position. "Are you serious? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place…?"

Those words made Makoto confused as he wondered whether he should interrupt them or hang back to get some information on what the three were talking about.

Yu Narukami seemed to just be watching the freak out on the outside, but the gray haired teen's stiff stance did signify he was worried.

Chie seemed to want to convince herself otherwise to what Yosuke was saying, her voice stumbling as she tried to justify anything to make the other option less possible. "S-stop it! Something must have come up, like an errand or something…"

Deciding it was probably best to set the record straight now before Chie became even more panicked, the blue hired called the trio. "Hey, Chie!"

That got the three to jump like they were startled and turn to where Makoto had been standing as he walked over as Chie seemed rather surprised at the blue haired teen's appearance. "Yuki-sempai, what are you doing here?"

He talked nonchalantly, as if he hadn't heard what they were saying beforehand. "First off, Makoto is fine. I'm not one for formalities. Secondly, Yukiko asked me to tell you she was sorry about not being around and not calling. She's been too busy with the Inn that she didn't check her messages until this morning."

That seemed to get all three of his under classmen's attentions, Chie exclaiming in surprise and (did he guess that right?) relief. "Wait, you've seen Yukiko?!"

Makoto leveled an eyebrow at her, but had no other visible tell to show how confused he was by this line of questioning. "Well considering I'm currently living at her family's inn, it'd make sense that I've seen her."

Yosuke spoke up then, his voice oddly intent on something. "No, what we mean is, you've seen her recently?"

The blue haired male nodded, successfully keeping in a yawn. "Yeah, I saw her this morning before I came to school. Frankly, I'm starting to feel I should have stayed behind as well."

Yu Narukami perked up in interest at the tired tone in the third year's voice. "Did something happen?"

"I've been pitching in a good number of hours helping out around the Inn after school. I haven't been getting enough sleep I should be probably. Now there's a big group reservation up at the Inn right now and me and Yukiko were helping out quite a bit. Tomorrow, I'm just going to crash."

Chie nodded, remembering something from some time ago. "Oh yeah…now that I think about it, this happened before too. At least once a year."

Makoto spoke on, adding on to the message from before. "She said she'll be at the Inn all day tomorrow, but she should be back on Monday. Her mother is coming home later today so that'll make things easier for her."

The brown haired girl seemed to be sighing in relief. "Oh…good."

Then her expression turned annoyed as she turned to Yosuke as she screamed out some of her pent up frustration on him. "Oh, for crying out loud Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She's totally fine!"

The her voice seemed to deepen to mask Yosuke's before going back to her own, the brunette boy cringing while Yu snuck some glances to gage their sempai's reaction. "And you were all 'Is Yukiko inside that place?' Hmph!"

Yosuke apologized. "S-sorry…"

It looked like Yosuke was going to say something more to her before Narukami spoke out. "Umm, guys?"

The two turned to where the gray haired teen was sitting before he motioned his head at where their sempai was currently standing with a deadpan expression.

The two immediately got the point at Chie stumbled on her words. "Oh..umm..!"

Yosuke tried to regain some ground. "Oh, Yuki…I mean, Makoto sempai…what she meant was…"

Makoto Yuki raised his hand, as if effectively halting any bullshit they might try to pull on him. "Stop it. Whatever is going on, it's none of my business and I am too tired. So, I'm going to be nice about this and pretend I didn't hear anything. Have a good day you three."

With that, the blue haired teen turned around and resolutely walked away. He made his way out the door and into the halls without glancing back once (if he could somehow have glanced back, he would found the trio sighing in relief at a close call before continuing their conversation intently).

He made his way up the steps towards Ms. Sofue's homeroom, mentally sighing. _Those three are really weird. Well, whatever. It's like I just said, it's none of my business._

* * *

Yukiko looked rather surprised by what she had just heard. "Chie was that worried?"

Makoto nodded, the two of them walking through one of the Amagi Inn's hallways towards wear the hot spring were, the two of them carrying the appropriate cleaning materials for a good long scrub one of the outdoor baths (the other having been cleaned by some of the other employees earlier in the day). He had every intention of afterwards crawling into bed and not coming out until Monday morning to get caught up on some much need sleep (if his dreams would decide to cut him a break), but he saw Yukiko had gotten the task of cleaning one of the outdoor baths today and had offered to help out.

Yukiko shook her head as the two walked, eyes filled with regret. "I really should have called her sooner then."

"I suppose so, but that reaction was a little over the top, don't you think?"

The black haired girl thought on that. "I guess so, but Chie and I have always been close. Ever since we were kids, she's protected me. Kind of like my own personal knight in shining armor. So Narukami-san was right there with her and Yosuke?"

He nodded, shifting the weight in the bucket he was carrying. "Yeah, I always see those three together whenever I'm at school."

That brought a smile to her face. "Good. I'm a little jealous considering I haven't been at school all that much, but I'm glad to hear Narukami-san is fitting in. I ran into him the other day when I was out on an errand and we got to chatting."

That perked the blue haired boy's interest. "Oh really, what did you guys talk about?"

"I was just asking him how he was getting on moving to a new place. He said he was doing fine, but I'm glad to hear it's the truth and he wasn't just saying so. Speaking of which, how are you doing?"

He raised an eyebrow at her in question. "Me?"

"Yeah, are you doing okay? I mean, you've been helping out at the Inn so much and I know how much that can conflict with school and life sometimes so…"

Makoto smiled a little as he answered. "I'm alright. Granted, I'm probably going to sleep all of tomorrow away, but school hasn't been a problem. I didn't mind helping out at all, I've had a lot of free time."

The young woman still looked concerned about him. "What about friends?"

That seemed to make his mind pause as if it was trying to overcome some glitch, stopping where he was in his tracks. That seemed to make Yukiko realize the question might have been a little tactless. "Oh, I'm sorry! You must miss some of your other friends and as a third year people tend to stick to their own cliques, but I…"

He held up a hand to stop her, much like he had done earlier for Chie and the other two, as he spoke without really thinking about it. "Don't worry about it. I don't have any other friends, if I had any before the hospital I really can't remember them. I don't really mind being left alone. Besides, everyone's more interested in that serial murder case than they are than just some new transfer student."

Yukiko looked somewhat down as she heard that statement. "Oh, right. Poor Saki-san."

"You knew her?"

She nodded, the two of them beginning to walk together again. "Yes, though not really that well. Her family runs the local liquor store, the Inn used to buy from them for generations. After Junes moved in, we've been buying from them more than the Konishi's. We didn't know each other personally, but I know everyone who lives here locally. Heck, I've never actually left Inaba before."

He listened before adding his own thoughts as the two managed to make it to the main lobby. "You've never left?"

She shook her head, the two stopping for a moment in the otherwise alone main lobby (the rest of the workers elsewhere, either cleaning or getting ready for entertaining the guests in the evening). "Nope."

"That….for some reason, sounds so strange to me."

Yukiko didn't seem so surprised by that. "Well, I did hear from Mom you used to move around a lot. I guess you and Yu Narukami are really alike in that regard, he said something similar when I told him that."

Makoto shrugged, not sure to how to feel about being compared to the gray haired boy that seemed highly distrustful of him for some unknown reason. _Honestly, how on earth could the two of us even be considered remotely alike?_

**(AN: Why hello, Irony. Have I ever said how much I love using you?)**

Yukiko brought things back to focus as she motioned her head towards where the outdoor baths lay after only a little longer walking. "Well, ready to clean your first outdoor bath?"

He shrugged. "Sure, just tell me what to do."

She smiled at that. "Thanks again for the help, I'd probably be at it the rest of the day without you."

The two resumed their walk towards the paths coming to about halfway across the main lobby as Makoto spoke. "We haven't even started cleaning yet."

Before the conversation could go any further, the doorbell rang stopping the two effectively in their track. The two seemed uncertain whether to go answer it or continue on like nothing had happened, considering that the two were teenagers and probably not whoever was ringing the doorbell was looking for. It was when the doorbell rung for the second time that it was clear that those two were the only ones available to answer.

Makoto sighed holding out his free hand for the mops that Yukiko was carrying. "I'll get a start on the bath while you go see what that's about."

Yukiko smiled as she handed the two mops over. "Thanks, it's the bath on the right. Make sure to clean out the buckets before you get to the scrubbing part. I'll be right there."

Makoto smiled as he turned and headed towards said bath. "Don't take too long and leave me to do all the work."

She called after him. "I promise, I'll be right there."

Makoto smiled as he made his way to the baths, his mind tired but still there. _Well, I make I can take out some frustration on the dirt in there…speaking of which, how dirty can a hot spring get?_

* * *

His already tired mind seemed to collapse as his body almost did against the wall of the bath that he had just cleaned; which also had the buckets stacked orderly, the floor before the bath had a sheen, and the open ceiling into the elements provided a nice view of the cloudy sky. There had been so much rain (with there currently being a break in the rain for a little bit during the time he was cleaning) that there wasn't as much to clean up, but with Makoto's tired mind it felt like he had spent a whole hour there. _Finally done._

Up until now, he had only heard about the baths, but he had to admit that seeing it for the first time the Amagi's baths were pretty impressive. _Maybe when the weather gets better, I'll take some time off here when I want to relax._

He eventually straightened his body away from the wall, going over to the other wall across from him to pick up the bucket and the two mops. _I better go put these away. Anyway, I can't believe Yukiko left me to do this all by myself, unless she got really chatty with whoever was at the door..._

He tiredly walked out the outdoor baths with these instruments, his mind eagerly wanting to dump the objects in the closet that he and Yukiko had gotten them out of and then proceed straight to bed. He walked until h got to the main lobby, seeing Jirou next to his wife at the counter with a worried expression as she seemed to be writing something down like the first night Makoto saw her when he came to the Inn. "Sayoko, please, you just got out of the hospital. You should take it easy."

Sayoko didn't look up from what she was writing, her voice utterly serious. "After all that's been happening, I don't have time to take it easy Jirou. Besides, everyone else have been putting their all in."

Jirou looked ready to roll his eyes at his lovely wife when they caught Makoto, which his expression lightened for. "Oh, there you are Makoto. How has cleaning the bath been going?"

The blue haired teen answered as he walked over to the couple. "Finally finished, which took a while since Yukiko left me to clean it all by myself. Do you happen to know where she is so I can give her piece of my mind?"

That seemed to take both of the parents aback as Sayoko looked up from her writing and turned to share a look with her husband before back to Makoto and inquiring further. "Wait, you mean she's not with you?"

Makoto answered her with some confusion in his voice. "No, there was someone ringing the doorbell so she went to answer it while I got started cleaning. I haven't seen her since."

Jirou turned to his wife. "Maybe it was Chie?"

Sayoko didn't seem convinced on that. "She knows not to visit during the times when the Inn is busy. Besides, Chie will usually call Yukiko ahead of time before coming over."

Makoto was quick to pick up what these two were trying to sort out. "Wait, you mean you guys haven't seen her?"

Jirou nodded. "Kasai said she was with you cleaning one of the baths."

Sayoko got up from the ledger book then, walking quickly to where the kitchens were in the back. "I'm going to ask her again, maybe one of the others asked her for some help."

The two males watched the female manager walk away quite quickly for someone in a fancy looking yukata. Jirou sighed. "Man, this is bad. First Miss Yamano, now this."

Makoto looked at Jirou, a feeling of dread starting to grow. "She's probably fine. I mean, Yukiko is one of the most capable responsible person I've ever come across."

The adult nodded, his expression grave. "I know that, I'm her father. But lately, she's been acting kind of uneasy about something. I just thought it had to do with the Inn taking up most of her time and the manager training, but now I wonder whether I should have confronted her about it. And with Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi's deaths, I just feel a lot more uneasy about things lately. Ever since the fog came in, it's been nothing but trouble."

Makoto just listened as the last of the older man's sentences sent him back into remembering the first dream he had sleeping at the Inn, particularly the disembodied voice's final words. _**"Everyone sees what they want to…and the fog only deepens….Will we meet again….at a place other than here?...I look forward to it….Redeemer of Man…."**_

The blue haired teen immediately stopped his train of thought there. _Come on, it's nothing like that, it's none of my business!_

And yet the more he tried not to think about it anymore, the words kept coming back to him as well as the amused hollow laugh.

As if his conscience was saying it had just become his business.

* * *

**V.E.: Okay, not as long as some of my other chapters, but this was the point I wanted to leave off of on. Next time we'll get to Minato's second interrogation and seeing the trio again. Hopefully, it'll be stronger than this chapter since we'll be getting closer to Minato joining the Investigation Team.**

**Wait a minute…did I actually meet my self-imposed deadline not by the skin of my teeth? (Checks calendar, Tuesday being circled as ****GET NEW CHAPTER OF DWC POSTED BY). ****By God, I actually did it!**

**Sorry, I'm just so happy that I didn't take a couple of months to get something new posted from my last update. Well, better be going to Fate next, I really want to finish that one and move on to other projects.**

**Thanks for reading, leave a review, and I will see you guys and girls next time!**

**I'm Valkyrie Elysia, I remember it so you don't have to!**


	8. Questions Continued

**V.E.: (Currently talking on the phone) Now, do we have things straight?**

**(Waits as person on the other end responds.)**

**Just so we're clear.**

**(Hangs up and turns to the readers.)**

**Hey there guys. That was my boss, something carried over from the last story I updated. If you're that curious, just read the author's note of Chapter 27 of Princess of Egypt. She wanted to me put off this chapter in exchange for updating my most popular fic. I managed to convince her otherwise. I've been really looking forward to getting further into the mystery here and getting Minato closer to being involved the Investigation Team. It's an unusual role I'm planning on him have in the future, but telling any further would be spoilers.**

**Either way, I'm currently writing this so I don't go into a panic about my own personal life problems. **

**Let's just say the current instance was pretty bad and move on.**

**Quote: "A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway."- Christopher Reeve**

* * *

This was certainly not the way Makoto wanted to spend in his Sunday morning. In fact, he doubted whether anyone would want to spend their one day off a week like this.

After asking around the Inn to find that Yukiko was nowhere to be found as well as calling Chie(who hadn't answered for some reason) and the other girls in her class, the Amagi's worry had caused them to dial the police. In a normal city or urban area, a teenage girl that hadn't been missing for twenty-four hours without any sort of note or ransom demand, probably wouldn't have gotten that much concern.

But considering the propensity in Inaba lately for people showing up dead and hanging from unexpected places, the police naturally took an interest. It was certainly clear from when they showed up at the Amagi Inn that morning that they were taking Yukiko's disappearance seriously. There were more than a few police officers around the Inn, asking questions about Yukiko as well as any connections to Miss Yamano and Saki Konishi.

And guess who was the last person to see Yukiko and was asked to come down the station for in depth questioning?

"So, let me see if I got this…"

The speaker was none other than Detective Dojima, both he and the teen currently seated in a mostly typical interrogation room (why was there a bed, this wasn't a holding cell) with lighting that felt like it need to be changed soon. The detective's gaze was torn between looking at his notes and almost glaring at Makoto, which also gave the teen the feeling the man was in desperate need of some coffee. "You and Yukiko Amagi were about to clean one of the baths when the doorbell rang."

The blue haired teen nodded. "That's correct."

"Then the Amagi girl went to answer the door while you went on to clean the bath, thinking she'd just be a couple of minutes behind you."

"That's what I said."

"And it wasn't until you were done cleaning and checked with the Amagi's and everyone else that you all knew she was missing."

He shrugged. "That was about the time that Jirou-san called you guys."

Dojima shifted his attention from the notes, directly to the young man who got the feeling that the cop was only somewhat accepting it. "And you're sure you can't remember anything else?"

Makoto sighed. "This is the third time we've gone through this, I don't see what else could really help you guys."

The cop kept his gaze on the teen, only succeeding in making the blue haired boy feel like this was more than just a 'polite' series of questions. "Often times, people will remember things the more they go through a story. Granted, people have also been known to remember things after time passes, but we generally try to get statements while the memory is still fresh in people's minds."

The teen leaned forward, his silver gray eyes narrowing at the man. "Then why do I get the feeling I'm being treated like a suspect or something?"

To Detective Dojima's credit, he didn't flinch at all. It was clear that a nerve had been touched though, but both knew that they had nothing in that case other than circumstantial evidence. He didn't say anything from across the table, waiting for the teen to make the first move. All in all, it reminded him very much of someone else's stares he had been dealing with.

Makoto leaned back, sighing. "You and your nephew are really alike, you know that?"

For once, the detective almost looked puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The blue haired teen shook his head before meeting Dojima's eyes. "Never mind. Anyway, why don't you ask the questions you really want to ask? I don't like beating things around the bush."

Dojima's eyes sharpened as he took out a pen, clicking it and setting it to hover over his notes. "Did you know Saki Konishi?"

The teen shook his head. "Not really. We may have been in the same year at the same high school, but we were in different classes. I might have passed by her in the hall, but I never saw a picture of what she looked like so I honestly couldn't tell you."

That prompted another question. "Anyone who could confirm that?"

"I'm the transfer student in a class that has very settled groups of friends. Frankly, people are much more interested in the murder than me. Other than Yukiko and some of her classmates, I haven't really interacted with anyone. Besides, I've mostly been working at the Inn to help out and make some extra cash."

The detective seemed to take the explanation in before nodding, jotting down something in his notes before looking at him again. "Did Yukiko Amagi ever talk to you about Mayumi Yamano? Like. how she acted while she was alive?"

Makoto shook his head again. "No, not at all. From what little I heard at the Inn about it, Yukiko's mother was the one who dealt with Miss Yamano. Yukiko's been pretty busy with the Inn. Although…"

"What is it?"

"There were a few times she seemed a little lost in thought, but I think that might have been about something more personal. Granted, I don't think Yukiko ran away over that. Some things people just don't want to talk about."

Dojima nodded, as if that was something he had heard about and thought too. "I see."

"She did mention Saki Konishi after she died, basically how they knew each other as locals. Nothing really beyond that."

That prompted some more notes for Dojima. "That's true of a lot of people around here."

Makoto inhaled some air before he spoke again. "Do you mind if I ask a question?"

A look of skepticism passed over the detective's face. "Depends."

"Do you know exactly when Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi died?"

Detective Dojima was silent for a few moments, seeming to debate whether to tell the teen the information or not. Finally, he answered him. "Miss Yamano is estimated to have been killed around one am on the 12th. As for Saki Konishi, she was also estimated to have died around the same time on the 15th."

That prompted Makoto to have a contemplative look on his face, trying to put some things together. For almost a minute, it was pure silence.

Then Ryotaro Dojima sighed. "I'm sorry."

Makoto didn't say anything, allowing the police officer to explain. "It's my job to be suspicious about everything, especially when it comes to things that keep popping up. In a small town like this, coincidences are pretty common. But when coincidences come up with an out of towner…"

The teen pierced together what the detective was saying. "It just makes it seem all the more suspicious."

The man nodded. "Look I don't think you're guilty, heck if it weren't for you we might not have known Miss Amagi was missing as quick as we have. But it's still unusual."

The teen understood, pausing before he spoke again. "Look, I've told you everything I know about Yukiko. I don't know what to tell you in regards to Miss Yamano. As for Saki Konishi, I have an alibi."

That really gained Dojima's attention, pressing further. "Go on."

"I said before I've helping out around the Inn. That night, I was helping out with a party for a big reservation. I didn't get to bed until almost TWO in the morning. Yukiko isn't here and I doubt that any of the party goers would remember much about that night considering the amount of alcohol that was consumed; but Jirou-san, Kasai-san, and at least half a dozen of the Inn staff could place me working there at the time of death."

The way Makoto said it seemed to relax Dojima as he scribbled something down. "I don't suppose you would mind if I confirm this with them?"

The blue haired boy shook his head. "Knock yourself out, I have nothing to hide."

In that regard, at least. _On the other hand, I am not going to invite a police officer into the room where I have a weird gun and sword hidden stashed in the closet. No matter how well I think I might have hidden them._

"Alright, that about takes care of the questions. However, are you sure you don't remember…"

Whatever the detective was about to say next was interrupted as the door to the interrogation room the two were in were swung open as a uniformed officer walked in a hurry. "Detective Dojima!"

The dark haired detective stood up, walking over to his fellow cop. "What is it, a new break in the case?"

The cop leaned close to whisper in Dojima's ear, which prompted a very angry expression. "_What_?"

The explanation went on and Detective Dojima's volume jumped quite a bit. "He was found with WHAT?!"

Makoto winced, pitying the poor unfortunate soul who was going to be on the receiving end of that anger.

Dojima groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "My sister is never going to let this go."

"Um…"

The small interruption caused bother police officers to turn towards the blue haired teen, who had raised his hand tentatively and the tone in his voice matched.

"Can I go now?"

Detective Dojima sighed before turning his angry attention towards the doorway. "Sure, I'd say we're done here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nephew to get out of trouble."

With that, the detective stormed out of the interrogation room. That left the teen that was still seated and the uniformed cop that seemed shaken at the bubbling anger. It was a pretty tense atmosphere those two were left with.

Breaking that tension, he turned his gaze to the cop while he fiddled with his headphones. "Could you tell me where the restrooms are?"

* * *

Walking down the police station halls, Makoto was nonetheless glad that he was finished here. _Maybe I'll have some time to get in a quick nap once I get back to the Inn._

Still, for a police station he was a little bit surprised on how very few officers were around. Given the current state of things, most of the officers of the small country force were probably patrolling for suspicious activity. He had to admit, this seemed like one impossible case the police had their hands on. _Two murders and now a possible kidnapping. There's no leads, no viable suspects, no real evidence from what I can tell, heck the police never really determined how the first two died. There's no logical basis, it's almost as if…._

_**The Full Moon, green and hanging in the sky bigger than before.**_

_**The sound of someone pounding on something hard. "Please, get me out!"**_

_**A man's voice calling, desperate and commanding. "******, get out of the car!"**_

_**The impact of tumbling to hard ground, scrapping his knees.**_

_**The sound of gunshots followed by the skid of a car into the side of a bridge, bursting into flame.**_

_**The black, ghost like specter that floated nearby as it waited for the combat to resume.**_

Makoto stopped suddenly as he gasped for air, one of his hands over one of his eyes as the sharp images in his mind eventually stopped. _What the hell was that?!_

It took a few minutes, but eventually his breathing went back to normal as the memory of those images no longer overwhelmed his senses. For a moment, he was glad that there was no around to have seen him go through what must have appeared to be a panic attack. Even so, the stark images seemed to linger in his memory as an incomplete puzzle.

Nonetheless, he seemed to gain back some measure of calm as he began walking again towards the entrance. _Those images, they looked kind of similar to that dream I had a while. But they felt so real, realer than most of what was in that file of mine. Were those images part of a dream or memories?_

With only questions in his mind, he finally resumed walking and just settled on leaving the police station. _First things first, get back to the Inn and relax. Then maybe when my mind's not as tired from questions, I can puzzle over the confusing and ever present mystery of 'Who the hell am I?'_

Just as he was about to make the turn that would have brought him to the entrance, Makoto managed to glimpse down one of the halls to see the sight of Yu Narukami and Yosuke Hanamura there and talking to another detective who was holding a steaming cup of coffee.

His interest piqued, Makoto walked towards his underclassmen. _Wonder what those two are doing here?_

As he got closer to them, he heard what the police officer was saying to the teens, whom he now recognized as the one who was with Dojima when Makoto was first questioned (Adachi, he was pretty sure his name was). "By the way, did she say anything about maybe going through some hard times?"

Yosuke seemed a little confused by the question. "Uh, hard times?"

Adachi explained, unaware of the blue haired teen who was behind him. "Well that announcer, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder. It seems Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it all caused the manager to collapse and with Ms. Amagi being the manager's daughter, she must have felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know."

That explanation cleared up some things for Makoto. _So that's what detective Dojima asked me those questions. I had no idea._

That also seemed to be news to the other teens, Narukami having noticed the blue haired upperclassman before Adachi spoke again. "By the way, did Ms. Amagi ever hint that she might be leaving the house? 'Cause if not, there have been some theories floating around that she may be laying low for some reason or another…"

Makoto gave an incredulous look at the back of the detective who was giving what was probably confidential information to a couple of teenagers. _How did this sorry excuse end up a detective? Seriously, don't the police have higher standards than this?_

It seemed like the detective realized that he just did as he tried to backpedal. "Crap, I think I've gone too far. You didn't hear that, okay?"

Before the two teens could promise they would, the angry yell of Detective Doijma echoed through the hallways (and possibly the entire building). "Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!? And where's my coffee?!"

Adachi called to his boss with nervousness in his voice. "S-sorry! I got it right here!"

The adult turned back to the two second year high schoolers in a whisper. "Forget I said anything, please!"

With that, the adult briskly walked in the direction of his obviously ticked off partner, letting Yosuke realize who had been right there listening. "Makoto-sempai, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough. Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

Both juniors shared a glance between them before Yosuke sighed dejectedly. "We'd…rather not talk about it."

Yu Narukami finally spoke, addressing Makoto. "We could ask you the same question."

That prompted an annoyed expression on the third year's face. "That's pretty much it in a nutshell, just asking me questions. This was not how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning."

Yosuke asked on as the three got to walking together towards the entrance, which wasn't too far away from where they were. "What were you planning on doing?"

"Sleeping, preferably not waking up until after noon. What were you guys doing before you ended up here?"

"We were supposed to meeting Chie at Junes. Man, she's not going to be happy we're this late."

Yu spoke up then as the two of them were right by the reception desk, stopping by a well-placed potted plant and some posters. "Knowing Chie and what I know of the local gossip, she might know about us already."

Yosuke didn't seem that assured by his friend's explanation. "That doesn't make it better. Anyway, does that detective think that Yukiko-san…?"

He was interrupted by a very familiar young woman's voice. "There you are!"

That got the three boys to turn as Chie came up to them, looking not very happy. "Sheesh, what're you guys doing!? I've been looking everywhere!"

It was then that she realized that there was a third person. "Oh, Makoto-sempai you're here too?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they brought me down for questioning about the last time I saw Yukiko."

Chie's expression was that of worry and fear. "Then she really is…"

Both of the other boys perked up at that, Yosuke being the one to vocalize the question. "Wait, so Yukiko really is missing?"

That seemed to surprise Chie. "Huh, you two know already!?"

Yu explained. "We overheard a couple of detectives talking about it after my uncle got us out of trouble."

Yosuke's expression made it clear he didn't want to talk about it. "Uh, there was a slight misunderstanding…we'll tell you about it later, Chie."

Chie settled for that as she told her story. "Alright. Well, I kept calling Yukiko's cell, but she didn't pick up. So I went to her house and it turns out Yukiko really did disappear!"

Makoto certainly heard the unusual wording, but ignored it for this moment as he told them. "Yeah, last night Yukiko and I were supposed to clean one of the baths. Last time I saw her was when she went to answer the door."

That prompted the three second year high school students to look at each other, clearly not able to voice what they really wanted to say with Makoto right there.

With that, he knew he wasn't wanted as he sighed before turning to the boys. "Alright, I'll leave you three to do…whatever it is you're planning on doing. You two should also probably tell Chie what else heard."

His piece said, he walked towards the entrance as Yosuke called after him. "What, you're not going to ask us?"

Makoto waved his fellow headphones wearer off, not looking back at them at all. "Plausible deniability Hanamura, look it up."

With that, he just kept walking. He had just about gotten to the doors as he heard Chie's indignant yell. "What?! They think Yukiko did it?! What the hell is wrong with them?!"

Makoto walked out of the station before he could hear anymore. He suppressed a wince. _I don't think I want to be on the receiving end of that anger. Note to self, don't get on Chie's bad side._

* * *

**V.E.: Well, this is a decent enough place to stop. This chapter's a little on the shorter side, but things will really be picking up in the next two chapters. Can't wait for that.**

**(Checks the calendar) Wow, been awhile since I had two updates this close together. Can't remember when that was. Maybe I'll get Paradox's next chapter posted a little after New Year's. I do hope some of the stories I'm following will get updated soon. I mean I finished the books I got for Christmas and the games I want don't come out until 2016. I need to find a way to kill some time.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading guys and please review. Hope to see you all next chapter!**


	9. What He Saw on a Trip to Junes

**V.E.: (Stretches in her chair) Alright, got that discussion post done, I'm going to start on that paper tomorrow, so I can spend the rest of the day….**

**(Phone starts beeping, causing her to pull it out. Going to the messages, she finds the text "GET YOUR SORRY BUTT STARTED ON ANOTHER CHAPTER. I WANT AT LEAST ONE MORE UPDATE POSTED BEFORE THE END OF THIS MONTH!")**

**V.E.: (Turns her attention to the readers) Thems the works, huh? Funny, I have a clear idea what I want to do in the next chapter of all my stories except the one I should be updating due to my cycle rules. Currently, that story is on hiatus. Maybe I should do a oneshot after this one. It's been awhile.**

**Sorry if you don't like hearing me rant, kind of the only place I can express it without judgement is these author's notes. Let's try and get rolling.**

**Quote: "Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."- Mario Andretti **

* * *

It could be said that Makoto Yuki really liked music. When he wasn't in class or helping out around the Inn, he could usually be found listening to his music in his room. He wasn't sure if he did this because out of the few things he had with him that the music might give him some clue into his former personality before he had woken up on that train or whether the music might stir up some memories. Whatever the case, he was never without his headphones and had yet to find a piece of music that he really didn't care for.

Until now.

Makoto looked upward, as if trying to will the intercom to play anything else but the Junes theme song. _I swear that little jingle has got be one of the most annoyingly 'happy' tunes there is._

The blue haired teen was currently in the middle of the Junes food court, trying to enjoy a bite to eat after a rather _long _shopping trip. After spending so much time at the Inn (and racking up quite a bit of money working there part time), he had decided to get out for a bit to take his mind of Yukiko's disappearance. It had been a few days and there was still no hint of what had happened to her, both Sayoko and Jirou were completely worried as well as those who worked at the Inn while the students of Yasogami High continued to gossip about it all.

He supposed he could have decided to join one of the sport team if he wanted to distract himself, but honestly neither soccer or basketball really appealed to him. Almost as if there was something he played before that didn't really match up with either.

Remembering the what the black haired girl had mentioned before, he decided to take a trip to Junes and see if he could buy some things that he needed. He didn't have that many regular clothes to wear and while the food at the Inn was good, he wanted to have a little more variety in what he was eating.

He probably should have taken up Kasai-san's offer to go with him and show him where everything was, but the teen was sure that he could handle himself. Besides, with how the busy the Inn was at that moment, Sayoko needed all the support she could get.

Upon arriving to Junes, he was greeted with the loud exuberant sound of the stores' theme song and got promptly lost in trying to figure out where everything was (seriously where was one of those helpful employees when you needed them?). He eventually found a couple of acceptable outfits for when he wasn't in school as well as some snacks for when he'd want a change of pace from the Inn's food, but it took so long that the Junes theme song was ingrained so thoroughly in his mind he was sure it would take at least a week to get it out.

He leaned forward in his seat, rubbing his temples as the Junes them started up again. _I know this isn't a bad song, but for Kami's sake…. maybe I just don't really like overly happy songs._

Taking one last sip of his drink, he then stood up from where he had been sitting. With one arm taking up his shopping bag while the other gathered the remains of his early dinner, the teen proceeded to walk to the nearest garbage can to dump his trash.

Makoto took a moment to look around the food court, noticing a couple of students in uniform probably hanging out and eating after cram school. None of them looked all that familiar to the blue haired teen, but then again he hadn't really interacted with people outside of Yukiko and those back at the Inn so for all he knew he had passed them in the school halls and didn't even notice.

_Speaking of people I don't know that much about, I wonder what those three are up to about now._ It had been a few days since his little _trip _down the to the police station and he had only really seen Narukami, Hanamura, and Chie around school. When he did see them, they were all huddled together as if planning something that could get them into some major trouble if anyone were to find out. And every time he glanced at the trio, the gray haired transfer student always seemed to know he was watched as his eyes shifted to meet Makoto's gaze.

He didn't know why, but there was something the situation that made him feel…. kind of left out. As if he had been used to being in the middle of strange things going on.

The very thought brought him back into the moment, shoving his trash into the designated bin and placing his tray on top. _What am I thinking? Poking your nose into other people's business is just asking for trouble._

With that thought, he made his way to the entrance of the food court with his nearby destination being the elevator. _Okay, the last thing I needed to do was check out the electronics department. _

He originally hadn't intended to go there, but Sayoko had promptly remembered that his guardian had ordered him a new cell phone for him to use and gave him a receipt to claim the phone. That brought him mixed feelings; on the one hand, his phone hadn't yielded him any clues and it did seem to be out of date compared the phones he had seen Yukiko and other students use, but the idea of losing something that had been on him before he was in Inaba didn't sit right with him.

_Again with this guardian with no name. Who is this person and why is he doing this?_

Like many other questions he had asked himself since waking up on that train, there didn't seem to be an answer. Nonetheless, he was going to see how far this would take him as he entered the elevator that had arrived and pushed for the floor that had the electronics department on it. After getting a tad lost earlier, he was glad to have found a directory right next to the food court (he wished there had been one on the first floor, that would have saved him a lot of trouble earlier).

It only took a few seconds to get to the right floor and only took a couple of minutes for the teen to get to the electronics section. It was a rather small compared to the grocery section, with the majority of the space being used for the big items like the plasma TVs. It was past there that the small, but respectable small electronics were displayed that Makoto reached in a few seconds.

Behind what appeared to be a small help desk, two girls about his age and looked vaguely familiar seemed to be hanging around, talking and giggling with each other. They were both wearing Junes uniforms, so he assumed they must have been employees and approached them. "Excuse me, I'm…."

One of the girls turned to him with an irritated expression. "Hey, we're on break so buzz off."

Struck by the rudeness of her tone, Makoto nonetheless kept his composure and was about to ask for where he could get help when the other girl perked up in interest. "Hey, you're that new third year transfer student."

He nodded, politely as he could manage. "That's right, do you go to Yasogami High?"

She smiled at him, batting her eyelashes at him while she leaned over the counter. "Yeah, I'm in Class 3-B. Have got to say, you are not what I was expecting."

The rude girl looked over at her friend with an incredulous expression. "Come on, don't you already have a boyfriend?"

"What Tsuge doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, he's so busy with the soccer team these days that we barely hang out at all! So I can flirt if I want to."

Just as Makoto was about to politely tell the girl he wasn't interested (as well as questioning whether this was really what Junes allowed their employees to do in uniform), an older woman's sharp voice startled the two girls. "HEY, what are you two lazy bums doing!?"

An older woman of a plump and short stature that looked to be in her thirties and also wearing a Junes uniform came up to the counter, her expression not happy as she eyed the two teenage girls. "You two are supposed to be down in the grocery section, not here. Do you want your pay to be docked again?"

Both girls did look like they wanted to be getting back to work anytime soon, sharing expressions of distaste. They both looked ready to protest until the older woman barked an order, her volume raised to almost deafening. "What are you waiting for? Get to it or I'll tell the manager!"

That seemed to start the girls into action as they seemed to scrabble away as fast as they could, not glancing back at the woman or Makoto.

The older woman sighed, walking behind the counter before addressing the teenage boy. "Honestly those two, how they're still working here is beyond me. Saki was the same age and she was an exemplary worker. Now then, can I help you with something?"

Makoto nodded, pulling out the receipt he had received and handed it over to her. "Yes, someone ordered me a new phone and I was told I could pick it up here."

She only looked at the piece of paper for a few seconds before she nodded in recognition, seeming to get a key and unlock something from behind the desk. "Ah yes, this arrived just yesterday. Something about the data in your old phone being completely corrupted, am I right?"

The blue haired teen nodded, pulling out his phone complete with the cute little charm and setting it on the counter. "Sounds about right."

The older woman pulled out a small box, opening it up to reveal a sleek looking black phone. "Well, whomever bought this for you sure went the extra mile. It's the latest model, all set up and ready to go for you. If you want, I can take your old phone off your hands. We're gathering up old phones to be recycled."

He shrugged, not seeing why not. "I don't need it anymore, go ahead."

The older woman picked up the old phone, the little toy hanging from it catching her eye. "Thank you. Oh, this is rather cute. I'm never seen this before, but I'm sure that I can find someone who would like…"

Without fully realizing what his body was doing, Makoto's hand shot up to grab the phone, startling the woman as he covered the hand which was holding the item.

Realizing what he had just done, he removed his hand form over the woman's hand and bowed his head with his voice low. "I'm sorry, but I'd rather like to hang on to that strap."

The older woman looked at him, both startled and surprised before she nodded. "Alright, if that's what you want."

"Thank you."

She went to unclip the charm from the old phone, putting the old phone aside as she attached the strap to the new phone. "Forgive me for saying, but it doesn't seem like this little thing is really your style. Are you sure you don't want something different?"

He nodded firmly, something about that toy made him not want to get rid of it. Maybe it didn't hold some immediate clue to his past, but the little thing was something that he could not throw away. "I'm sure."

With that settled, the woman put the new phone (now with the strap and little toy) back in the box and handed it to the blue haired teen. "Alright then. Will that be all?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She nodded to him with a pleasant smile. "Have a good day then."

He took the box from the woman's hand (placing into his shopping bag) and turned away, speaking to the woman as he walked away. "You as well."

He felt his mind relaxed as he had come to a close to his errands for the day. It was admittedly a nice change of pace to be hanging around somewhere other than the Inn or school, but he wouldn't necessarily call it enjoyable to get yourself a little lost or run across people like those girls from earlier when he felt incredibly tired and frustrated from all the questions he had no answers to.

Honestly, the lack of any resolution was starting to drive him up the wall. _One hint universe, can't you just give me one hint in what direction I should be looking at?!_

Just as he finished that thought, he had reached the end of the small electronics section, walking right next to where the plasma TVs were being displayed. He turned his head and then froze in his place.

Further down the wall, one of the plasma screens had an arm sticking out of it.

One thought ran through the silver eyed teen's mind. _What the…?_

The arm moved, seeming to anchor itself to the side of the screen as if to push the rest of itself out.

Brought back into the situation by the movement, Makoto took a few steps, flattening himself towards the side of the wall. He took a deep breath and counted to ten. When that was over, he peaked around the corner and the sight that greeted him shocked him.

Yu Narukami's upper body was coming out of the plasma screen, soon his full body was out and the gray haired teen took a deep breath as if gasping for air after coming up out of the water.

Before Makoto could muse on this utter weirdness even further, the teen was not alone as Yosuke Hanamura and Chie Satonaka came out of the plasma screen hurriedly, almost collapsing on the ground with her on top of him. Thankfully, they regained their footing in reality as Yosuke brushed his pants off. "Man, I am never going to get used to that."

Chie nodded. "I know what you mean. Anyway, I don't see why we need to check around here before we come out of there. Not many people come around here from what I've seen."

Yu explained in a calm and patient tone. "Better to be safe than sorry, all we need is one person to see for this to get out."

Yosuke nodded, his face grim at that possibility before turning his attention back to his friend and apparent leader of the group. "And I'd rather not have to explain this to my dad. Seriously though, what do you think partner?"

That prompted the gray haired teen to think carefully before responding. "I think we've done enough basic training. Tomorrow, we'll go further into the castle."

That seemed to brighten Chie's mood considerably. "Finally!"

Yosuke tried to bring her expectations down with his rational words. "That doesn't mean we're going to get her back tomorrow, you know."

Chie nodded, her eyes somber at that. "I know, but are you sure…?"

Narukami interjected then. "According to the weather forecast, Yukiko should be safe for now at least. We needed to get some practice in and strengthen our Personas so we wouldn't get killed on the upper floors."

The mention of Yukiko started his mind up again, but it was the term at the end of his small talk that made something in Makoto's head just light up, as if recognizing something familiar and right in a reality that mad little to no sense and it clung to it. _Personas?_

His mind then jumped to the singular. _Persona._

Yosuke nodded, his voice chastising. "Besides, have you forgotten what happened when you charged ahead without a plan the first time?"

Chie sighed, fully aware of what he was remembering. "I remember, I'm just worried."

Yu nodded in understanding. "I know Chie, we're all worried. Same time tomorrow?"

Yosuke nodded in assent. "You got it."

The three then walked away from the plasma screen they had come from, not looking back as further down the line they separated into three different directions, each with their own different destinations.

It took a minute or two of getting his brain up and running and making sure the three wouldn't come back until Makoto turned the corner and walked to where the three had just been. Standing right in front of the TV, there was no indication that it had just been a portal in which three second year high school students had just come out of. _Looks pretty normal to me._

Then Makoto reached his arm out (the one not carrying the shopping bag full of his purchases) to the screen and as soon as hand touched it, the surface rippled like water and caused him to take his hand back in surprise. _Did that really just happen?_

After about minute, he reached out his hand again, this time pushing further and finding his arm passing through the TV and into some place with a lot of space. _This is happening._

Eventually, he pulled his arm back into the real world, not wanting to press his luck further. Who knows what could be on the other side?

With that thought, he turned his head in the direction of where the trio had walked off to. _Who indeed?_

* * *

Makoto took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. "Okay."

He reached out his arm towards the television, his arm passing through the screen like earlier into what seemed to be a bigger space.

The teen pulled his arm back, rubbing it in thought as he mused aloud. "So it doesn't just happen with that TV in Junes."

After his _unusual_ little shopping trip, Makoto Yuki had somehow calmly made his way back to the Amagi Inn. He had been greeted by Kasai-san, whom politely asked about his trip which he had replied it being fine (anything more detailed and he felt his mind might have lost the calm he had). He told her that he wasn't hungry and to not send up food with Aika tonight as he told her to have a good evening. It wasn't until he reached his room and the door was safely closed behind him that his mind practically exploded and he started going over what he had seen in great detail.

One of the thoughts that came up in the fit of the moment was about the TV and just to satisfy it, he decided to see if whether the same thing would happen with another TV screen and the closest one happened to be the one in his room.

He tilted his head a bit as he examined the TV. "But I don't think I could fit my whole body into this one like that other screen."

The more he thought about it, he wondered how he was able to do this (given that he had never tied it before, it made sense that he hadn't come across this ability before now). But given that his mind wasn't giving him any answers, he immediately switched his focus on to the trio.

How were those three able to do it? From the way they talked about it, it seemed like they had had this ability for some time, at least since before today.

Then there was the mention of Yukiko, how they seemed to know where she is and that she was safe for now. _It sounded like Yukiko was somewhere in the space that the TV led out to, but how on earth does that make any logical sense? Then again, a murder case that has its two victims hanging upside down with no known cause of death isn't necessarily logical to begin with._

If this really was true, then it makes sense that those three wouldn't tell the police about it. _It sounds crazy, you'd need to see it to believe it. Besides, whatever the police have been trained for, they are not equipped for the supernatural. _

That led Makoto with the question, what was he going to do about this? From what little he had caught of their conversation, wherever they had been was extremely dangerous and not for the unprepared. He may not know much about his life, but he wasn't eager to lose it for something he didn't fully understand

But if there was a chance he could find what had happened to Yukiko …. if there was a chance he could find some answers….

_Personas. _

_Persona._

The word resounded with him even stronger than it had back at Junes. It was thrilling, comforting, familiar, all of that and more. It brought out in him a hunger for something he wasn't sure he could describe, a rush like nothing else could give him.

It was like it was urging him forward, telling him to take the next step on the path which would lead him to his fate.

He scoffed gently. _When did I get so poetic? _

Even so, he knew what the answer was.

_Same place tomorrow. _By that wording, he knew they would be going back through the screen tomorrow. He didn't know the exact time, but it was probably a good idea to head to Junes straight after school and stake out the spot until they came by. _If I just approached them, they wouldn't go until I left. I can't ask them about this because then they'll lie, poorly but they'll still lie. Besides, Narukami doesn't trust me one bit. Unless I confront them with them definite proof, I'm not going to get any answers._

His best bet was to follow them into whatever place they were going to through the TV, let them go ahead a distance while he got a chance to look around the place. Then he would have to catch up with them or wait for them to come back and confront them.

It wasn't a foolproof plan, but given what little information he had, it was the best plan he could come up with.

His eyes then went to the closet, a place he checked every morning and every afternoon he got back from school to make sure none of the cleaning staff had discovered what he had stashed there. So far, they hadn't and he had yet to check it for today.

He made his way over, opening the door and checking the spot. He sighed with some relief. "Right where I left you."

But that just brought up the reminder that he would going to a place that was not going to be safe by those three's words, a place where they had been training so they could build up their skills and progress further…

He leaned down, extracting the sword and gun from the closet, bringing it out into the open of his room for the first time since he had woken to the weapons in his hands.

The sword looked to be in good condition, something he could tell from one glance (the ability to just know that puzzling him, but there were more pressing things to think about right now). The gun may have been strange looking, but it just felt wrong to leave it behind when it had appeared with the sword together.

He looked down at them for a few more seconds, thinking about the possibility of the items being lost or discovered. Then he would be in all kinds of trouble.

He finally stood up, holding one weapon in each hand and turned around. Facing his room, the teen walked over to where had tossed his school bag and the shopping bag with all the things he had gotten form Junes.

Placing the weapons on the bed, he first went to the side of the bed where he had been charging his new phone and unplugged it. With one glance at the little toy strap, his mind steeled itself as he walked back to his backpack and stuffed his phone inside. Then he stuffed the gun inside and laid the sword to the side, knowing he could hide it with his uniform and stuff it into his locker during the day (if it could fit an umbrella, it could fit a sword of relatively the same size.

_Better to be safe than sorry. _

_Either way, it's going to take a lot longer to get that theme out of my head._

* * *

**V.E.: Oh thank goodness, I actually made the deadline. Let's see, page number and word count, not bad at all.**

**So next chapter we're heading into the TV world and Minato is going to be fighting Shadows once more. Whether we get to where I hope we'll get to, I honestly can't say.**

**I think I might do a oneshot next, but if not I'll be doing the next chapter of Princess of Egypt.**

**Either way, I'm glad you're all reading this and I hope you leave a review. I hope to see you next time and until then, have a good day!**


	10. The TV World

**V.E.: Alright, now things are starting to heat up! I know a lot of people really want to get into the action when it comes to a story, but the thing about me is that I always need time to set up the story and by extension the characters. Sometimes, a story can move way too fast and while for fan fiction it's kind of understandable given we already know these characters, but I still need to set up a situation. It's the writer in me. **

**Plus, action scenes are not my strong suit. I am sorry if do not do these battles justice. Just to be clear, I warned you.**

**On another note, given how much time has passed and considering I want up to put up a new poll to see which story I should do next, at the end of this chapter I will be posting the winner of the poll to determine Yu's pairing. Just remember, these came out of your votes and were not my decision.**

**Now let's get this started!**

**Quote: "He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."- Sun Tzu **

* * *

"I can't believe this!"

Yu looked to his side where Chie looked to be steamed, the two were right next to the large TV they had just been by yesterday and the ever recognizable Junes jingle was playing over the loud speakers.

He raised an eyebrow at her in question before she continued on. "He should have just gone to the restroom while we were still at school!"

Narukami just shrugged. "Well, it's better he goes here than needing to go in there. Have you forgotten what happened the first time we went?"

She nodded, her expression utterly exasperated in memory of what Yosuke had done. "Hard to forget about that. Still, he's taking forever!"

Not too far away, behind the corner of where the bigger electronics and the smaller electronic sections met, Makoto simply stood there with a blank expression. _He really is taking a long time. _

When he had arrived at Yasogami High that morning, he had managed to stow away the gun and sword he had brought to school under his uniform into his locker with no one seeming to notice (which really made him feel a little disturbed at how easy this could happen again until the bell went off and he had to hurry to class). Along with that, he had stuffed the unusual looking blue key he had into his pocket, not sure whether it would come in handy but it felt almost like a good luck charm that was not to be tossed away. One full school day later (complete with a sleep session in Mooroka's class), he hung around his locker and waited until he saw the trio leaving the school before following a good distance behind them. He ducked behind trees and buildings just in case they might have turned around and there were a few close calls with Narukami (that teen's instincts were almost scary).

Finally, the trio and their tail had reached Junes, but just before the three were about to head into the TV, Yosuke needed to rush off and use the restroom.

While he knew it would only take a little while longer for things to get going, there was a part of Makoto that utterly irritated at having to wait for this. The anticipation had been killing him all day and to come so close to only face a delay was killing his (by his estimation, rather large) patience. _To find Yukiko…to get some answers…_

It was the only lead he had at the moment and he would be damned if he let it slip him by.

He was almost tempted to throw on his headphones, but he left them off because he did not want to miss anything these two were saying. So far, they hadn't really said anything he hadn't figured out, but you never knew when someone might let something slip.

Unfortunately, the two were given much time to say anything as it at that precise moment that Yosuke came sprinting back to them, his face eager and ready to go. "Alright, I'm good, let's head out!"

Chie's expression quickly changed to a very pumped up one as the tow faced the large TV. "Alright, let's go!"

Just before the two brunets could take another step, Yu Narukami stopped them. "Hold it, we need to check first."

As the gray haired teen checked the surroundings (with Makoto obviously out of view as he heard everything), the two simply waited with a hint of annoyance to their matching expression (which if they were aware they were on the same page for once, would cause them to go into denial).

About half a minute later, the gray haired teen nodded in affirmative. "Alright, now we can go."

Yosuke answered in affirmation while Chie merely nodded. "Right."

Makoto then took his time to edge slowly closer to where they were as he saw Yu Narukami the first to go through the TV, the screen rippling like the surface of water as the teen passed through. Yoskue followed right behind his friend and then Chie did the same. As soon as the three were out of sight, Makoto turned his corner and walked, finally stopping in front of the screen as the ripples had just ceased.

The blue haired teen crossed his arms as he simply stared. _Now, to just wait and give them a head start. Don't want to run into too much trouble. Better check my equipment first._

With that thought, his hands immediately went to check on the sword and gun he had stashed under his school uniform (it was very uncomfortable and his movements were rather awkward, but he had managed fine). He didn't really have any body armor, but he didn't think he could find some on such short notice and not draw attention to himself.

Then his hands went to the pocket where he had stashed the strange blue key. Clenching it for almost a minute, it felt like the key was giving him courage.

Finally, after he was certain that everything was in place, he took a deep breath and his eyes steeled. _Alright, here goes everything._

He reached out to the screen with one of his hands, causing ripples at the mere touch. He closed his eyes and pushed himself forward, feeling his arm go through and then finally the rest of his body. It felt like he was entering water, passing through the border of something that was familiar into the unknown. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see what would be in the in between.

Finally, the feeling of pressure lessened as he felt himself come into a new area. The air around him felt a little weird, but it didn't feel too different from where he had come from. He opened his eyes slowly.

Fog, that was the first thing he saw. It was strange because it had something of a yellowish tint to it, but that could be because of the strange lights that were shining above him. That caused him to his eyes to notice the immediate surroundings that he could see, but were still partially obscured by the fog. With the headlights, the strange purple insignia on the flooring, the wires that were hanging, and the stairs and ladder; Makoto felt he was at some studio. _How appropriate._

He turned behind him to find what appeared to be three old red TVs (given the antenna on top) stacked on top of each other. He went to inspect them, tentatively putting his hand through the screens and seeing his arm go straight through. _Given the position, this must be where I came through. So this must be the way to get back to where I came from. Good to know._

Makoto turned back to his immediate surroundings, not seeing much because of the fog. _Those three aren't here, so now the question is where did they go?_

It was just then a flash of sparkling blue caught his attention. He took out his sword (slipping into a comfortable fighting stance without even realizing it) and slowly creeped over, on his guard just in case it the sparkly light was not so innocent.

He let out a deep breath as he found that the flash of blue belonged to a blue butterfly that just seemed to flying around. _All that anticipation and it's just a bug._

Still, the bug was glittering with something and in place that clearly had something supernatural going on so Makoto wasn't letting done his defenses that easily. _It kind of looks like that butterfly I saw on the first day, but that would be impossible._

As if hearing his thoughts, the blue insect flapped its wings over to Makoto, circling and diving all around him. He smiled at the insect, still guarded but now a little at ease. "Well, I guess you seem to like me. I don't suppose you've seen three teenagers come through here and could tell me where they went, could you?"

Before the teen could question his sanity for talking to a butterfly like a real person, the butterfly flew a distance before stopping as if waiting for him.

The blue haired teen's eyes slightly widened before he shook his head. _Taking from directions from a bug…then again, I've got no other choices unless I just want to sit here and wait._

And while waiting around for the three to come back and confronting them there would have probably been the safer option, he did not simply want to wait there with a sword in his hand for nothing.

Plus, there was something about this that felt…. familiar. And he would take as much of those feelings as he could get.

Makoto sighed as he walked towards the blue bug, who flittered on and sparkled as it led the teen on. "Alright then, mysterious bug that I probably am projecting too much on to, lead on."

* * *

The castle was pink on the outside.

At least, that's what Makoto thought the color of the castle was on the outside before he blinked and took a closer look and saw that it was red. He blamed the fog.

Admittedly, the fog wasn't as prevalent in the area he was currently compared to where he had first came into this world, but the yellow mist was still there. Especially when he had come inside, it seemed like it seemed to clear a bit. The inside of the castle fit with the pushiness and grandness of the outside, all red, white, and gold with posh carpets, curtains, and high ceilings and doors to match. It was rather out of place in a world that seemed to consist mostly of fog, but Makoto got the feeling this place wasn't all that natural.

The hallways on the first floor seemed to be like a maze. There didn't seem to be anyone there on that floor though he did come across some opened red chests that would suggest someone had been here and raided what they could of the place.

Call it a hunch, but he was pretty sure he found where the three had gone off to.

_Who knew blue insects of supernatural origin were actually very good at guiding you where you want to go?_ Just as soon as he thought that, he turned around to see if the butterfly was still around. It wasn't.

With nothing else there with him, the blue teen forged on into the castle. He knew there was a possibility that that was just begging to get killed by some supernatural creature inside the castle, but logic didn't seem to be much of a factor in this world anyway.

Climbing up the stairs and reaching the second floor, he felt almost a little disappointed by the big empty room beyond the great doors with nothing in it. As well as unsettled by how quiet it was. _Well, better go further in. _

With that thought, the blue haired teen walked further in. The second floor only seemed to consist of that room and the small hallway on the other side that led to the door to the stairs (that was already open, no likely the prior group's doing). _That was easy._

It was upon reaching the third floor that he suddenly felt his gut clench as some weird bell sound rang overhead and a familiar voice sounded with laughter present. _"Teehee….My Prince will soon come for me….I'll always be waiting…Forever and ever…"_

_That's..! _Makoto called out to the voice. "Yukiko, is that you?! Where are you?!"

No answer was given to him, leaving him only with the tense atmosphere of the third floor, His hand gipping his sword clenched harder as he took a few tentative steps forward. _I don't know why, but the air here feels…different. And not necessarily a good different._

The hallways didn't look too different form the first floor so it wasn't until he saw a big black thing in front of him with a mask that made his eyes widen. _What the…?!_

Unfortunately, while he was taken aback for the moment, the black creature saw him and headed straight for the blue haired teen. As soon as it got close enough, the creature dissolved into three black birds that seemed to be carrying a lantern.

One started to dive straight at him, but it was at that point the boy's mind had managed to unfazed as he drew his sword before he could blink. With one quick cut, the bird disintegrated into dust while the other two birds seemed to squawk in surprise. Without really, thinking about it, Makoto took their surprise to run over and give them their own cuts. The two were destroyed in much the same manner as the first.

The teen sighed as he relaxed the grip on his sword. _Pathetic._

Then the moment passed and his eyes widened as his mind registered what he had just did. _Wait, did I just do that?_

The way he cut those things down…it was as natural to him as breathing. As if he was used to cutting down shadowy abominations on a daily basis and in that moment, he felt like he had only used a fraction of his strength.

He felt his body still alert to his surroundings as he had finally come across something that would be a danger to him. _Well, if I do run into anything else I know I can defend myself. What kind of person was I before Inaba?_

Left with that question,the only thing Makoto could really do is what he had been doing before, forge further in and so he did.

Going further into this floor, he was surprised to find several chests unopened including one that seemed to need a key. He decided to take what valuables that he could for himself (a strange stone, bead, and a soda). _Did those three not take the time to really explore the floor and get all the valuables?_

As he went through the rest of the floor (during which he spotted another shadowy creature but made the moves to avoid it), he contemplated it further. _There might have been more monsters that they had to take out which is why I only ran into those birds just now. Or they could have been in a hurry and didn't really care so much about these things. Either seems plausible._

Finally, he managed to find the stairs and ascended with great haste.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, he was greeted with the sound of those strange bells form earlier and the sound of Yukiko's voice coming from above. _"Welcome, thank you for coming to the Amagi Inn today. Your room is right this way. If we can help you in any way, please let us know immediately."_

The boy mulled over the words thoughtfully, noticing the difference compared to the third floor. _That's strange, that's completely different from the last floor. Last time, it was about a prince or something, not what I really expected out of Yukiko. This sounds like a typical day at the Amagi Inn. What is this castle and how is it connected to Yukiko?_

He walked further in, seeing a couple of creatures ahead, that seemed to scamper away as if sensing him. _Odd._

Still, it wasn't enough to detract him from going further in, going down the maze like hallways until finally a strange looking golden hand creature came over to him.

The hand dissipated into two smaller ones to which Makoto went after one. This time, it took more than one hit to take it down, but it went down nonetheless. The blue haired teen then turned his attention to the other hand, but the little guy scampered off before Makoto could make a move. _Figures._

He sighed, but then felt strangely satisfied at taking down the golden creature. _I feel like I've fought that kind of creature before. Not just that…but the other monsters as well. But I'm pretty sure I've never been here before. Where else can you find these things?_

His other hand went to gun he still had stashed away as he moved on. He didn't feel like bringing it out for some reason, but just having it there made him feel prepared.

He went through the fourth floor without much more fanfare as he found the next pair of stairs at almost the end of the last hallway he was exploring.

Upon reaching the fifth floor of the castle, the bells and Yukiko's voice were back though he wasn't that surprised by them. _"Hmhmhm….Ohoho…"_

He really didn't like the sound of it. _What's with that creepy sounding laughter?_

He started down the hall, but he was stopped not too long after by the sound of the bell and Yukiko's voice. _"Wow! By any chance, are you…. another one of My Princes? I'm locked up here…please save me! Hmhmhm…I'm sure you and My Other Princes can do it…I'm sure you and the others will brave any danger to release me from this place…I'll be waiting for you…"_

The voice faded away and Makoto didn't stay still as he began sprinting. _Other princes must mean those three, maybe they're nearby, right on this floor. Still…is the person talking really Yukiko? I mean, it's her voice, but it sounds so…different from the Yukiko I've met._

But just as he thought this, his surroundings flashed and the bell rang out, causing him to shut his eyes in surprise. He didn't move a muscle as he did so.

When the bell faded, he heard the creepy laughter of "Yukiko" before fading away. Once he felt safe enough to open his eyes again, he was greeted with the surroundings of a different hallway than the one he had left. _Well, this might be annoying._

Fortunately for him, fate decided to give him a bone as he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. "Are you sure?!"

The blue haired teen turned around, finding that in front of a door a short distance away was Chie (the owner of the voice), Yosuke, and Yu. The three seemed to be staring very intently at some little blue bear mascot dressed in white and red. The three humans were wearing glasses for some reason, but Makoto found that this was probably not the moment to question that.

The small group didn't seem to notice him as the bear nodded. "I'm positive, it's that girl's scent!"

Yosuke then turned to the door, ready to reach for the door knob and open it. "All right then, let's do this!"

Just as his hand was about to touch the door knob, the little bear sniffed the air. "Wait, I'm smelling it again! That person is really close now!"

Chie looked at the bear incredulously. "Seriously?"

Yu responded to the bear's words calmly. "How close are we talking?"

Makoto answered in a deadpan voice as he walked right up to the small group. "Try right behind you guys."

The three students and strange bear creature turned around to find the third year standing there and went on. "All right, now maybe someone could tell me, what the hell is going on here?"

Yosuke was the first one to respond, a mixture of surprise and panic. "Makoto-sempai, what are you doing here?!"

Chie also seemed to surprised. "Yeah, how'd you get here?"

"The same way you got here. Now, what is this place and what are you three doing here? And what does it have to do with Yukiko?"

While the two brunettes seemed to cringe at the questions like children caught in wrongdoing, Yu took a step forwards his eyes hard as he gazed at the senior. "That's funny, last time we spoke you didn't seem all that interested in what we were doing."

Makoto met the stare with his own. "At the time, it wasn't any of my business what you guys were doing. Now, _it is_."

That didn't seem to satisfy the transfer student as the other two seemed to pick up on Narukami's tone and gaze at their sempai. "And just how is it any of your business? How did you get here?"

Makoto really didn't like repeating himself. "Like I said, the same way you did."

It was then the bear piped up then. "Then you're the culprit!"

His eyebrows rose in confusion. "Culprit? What are you talking about? And what the heck are you?"

The bear didn't seem at all bothered as he went on to accuse him even more. "You don't fool me! If you've got the power to come here, then you must be the person throwing people in here!"

"I didn't even know I could do something like this until I saw these guys do the same thing yesterday and tried it myself! I didn't even know Yukiko was involved until I overheard them talking about coming to save her! And another thing…"

But then he stopped, looking up as his senses intensified and saw another shadowy creature coming near them. He readied his sword, surprising the four as they looked ready to use their own weapons to defend themselves.

Makoto stated to sprint forwards, the four ready to fight until Makoto sprinted past them and let them notice the shadowy figure. The figure morphed into a couple of large shadowy dice, which Makoto dispatched with his sword swiftly enough.

Once finished, he sheathed his sword and let out a sigh, slightly disappointed at the lack of a challenge.

Chie was almost speechless and the blue bear looked to be on the same page. "Whoa."

Yosuke was a little vocal on his thoughts. "After all the trouble we had earlier….and he took them out with just a sword."

Yu was the only one that didn't seem to have any surprise, looking every bit the cool and collected leader.

Then Makoto spoke, not turning his back to face them. "Persona."

Now that seemed to surprise the gray haired second year with the others as the blue haired boy went on. "That word…I know that word, but I don't know from where. I have so many questions without answers, so many things I don't know, but that word…"

Then he turned to face them, meeting Yu's gaze and pleaded. "Please…tell me what you know."

For a moment, no one moved, no one spoke. Gray eyes stared down silver, those on the side not sure whether to step in or not.

Finally, Yu moved toward the door, motioning the teen to come over. "It's easier to show first than to explain everything at once."

Makoto followed his lead, wondering where this was going.

Yosuke looked at his friend with concern. "Partner?"

"Open the door, Yosuke. We'll be fine."

Yosuke looked conflicted, but he didn't say otherwise as he nodded.

"Okay."

With that, Yosuke went for the door knob and turned it, creaking the door open until it was large enough to walk through. That led the four teens and bear to walk in and stop at the sight that was before them though it was mostly a shock for Makoto.

Standing there in the middle of the room, was Yukiko. Alive, breathing, safe…. but something felt off. For one, she was in a poufy pink dress and had on a tiara that made her look like a princess. Second, that expression on her face was not one he was familiar with and the yellow eyes were an immediate red flag.

Floating right beside her, was a shadowy looking knight on a horse like object, glinting with silver armor and holding something that looked normal at a jousting competition. It reminded him of the creatures that he had come across earlier, except bigger and probably a lot more powerful.

He called to her shakily. "Yukiko… is that…?"

Chie was the first to set the record straight, the three teens getting into their battle stances (Yu with his katana, Yosuke with his knives, and Chie ready with her kicks). "That's not the real Yukiko! It's her other self!"

Yosuke chimed in before Makoto could ask anything. "Long story, we'll explain later!"

The princess Yukiko seemed to chuckle darkly as she addressed the teens. "My Prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?"

With that, the knight charged forward at the three teens, swinging its weapon as the three stared down the monster.

Makoto stood to the side, not listening as the blue bear seemed to be shouting some form of instruction to the three as everything around him seemed to fade away. Everything felt so surreal, like it was just another dream and any moment now he would make up back at the Amagi Inn with everything normal.

Except this felt more real to him than anything he experienced in Inaba.

Then a voice echoed his find, one strange yet familiar. _**"Well, what are you going to do now?"**_

With that moment passed and Makoto was back to reality. He knew the answer.

With one quick motion, he drew his blade and sprinted towards the monstrous knight.

* * *

**V.E.: I know. I'm evil for ending this on a cliffhanger, but I've already written quite a bit.**

**Now you may have noticed Minato is pretty much a badass with a sword. The reason for this is that his physical attributes have not been reset to zero. His Persona…well we'll get to that next chapter.**

**Now, the poll results are in.**

**3****rd**** place: Yukiko (32 votes)**

**2****nd**** place: Rise (37 votes)**

**And 1****st**** place: Marie (62 votes)**

**Wow, for the people who said they didn't like Marie, there we a lot more who liked her with Yu. Well like I said, you voted so don't get upset with me about it.**

**That new poll should be up on my profile. Please check it out.**

**Alright, not the best chapter I've written but certainly not the worst. Make sure to review and expect a wait for the next update. I've got a bunch of school work on my plate.**

**See you next time!**


	11. I am Thou

**V.E.:….Oh wow, it's been awhile. And I'm jumping straight into the battle. That includes action scenes which I suck at writing. JOY.**

**Sorry, probably not the first things you guys wanted to read about when you have been waiting for an update for months. It was a killer semester so I had to put off on writing for fun and now I'm trying to get as much writing done as I can before my online class starts in July. Fun fact, I actually started writing this chapter the day before my birthday.**

**Okay, a couple of quick notes before we get into the plot. I know that I have many readers who simply skip the author's note. PLEASE DON'T. I don't like having to answer reviews about the things I've talked about clearly there.**

**Well after much polling for my next story project, it has come to…. a tie between To See You Again and Code Geass: Naoto of the Revolution. I honestly am a little surprised. I'll just be doing updates and one shots for the moment. **

**Okay, I suppose that's enough of my nitty little thoughts out of the way. Let's get on with it!**

**Quote:** "**Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves."- Octavio Paz **

* * *

There are many kinds of stupid in the world.

Of course, many would say the line between courageous and stupidity is a very subjective area, but the fact of the matter is that most people think they are doing something heroic and brave when they are actually doing something suicidal and stupid.

And Makoto is pretty sure he just invented a new kind of stupid when he just ran up to fight some sort of shadowy knight abomination (that was certainly not like the small fry that he had encountered earlier) with three underclassmen that were already taking him on and seemed to knew what they were really doing.

Yosuke was quick to express those feelings vocally. "What are you doing?! We can handle this!"

Makoto nodded to the brunet as he took to the open space in their formation. "I don't doubt that you actually know what you're doing here compared to me."

That led Yosuke to yell back at him. "Then get out…!"

The blue haired third year finished the sentence. "Of the way when I can do something to help? Not happening."

Yosuke looked ready to yell something else at the senior before Yu cut him off, his gaze piercing. "Yosuke, focus! He just cast Tarukaja!"

Yosuke readied his knives at that command. "Got it!"

Yu then turned his head to Minato. "Fine, but don't get in our way."

Makoto readied his sword, observing what the three were doing before making any moves himself. "Wasn't planning on it!"

Yu then held out one of his hands, leaving his katana only supported by the other hand as his hand seems to crush something, the utterly familiar sound of it ringing in Makoto's head as he turned his gaze sharply to the gray haired teen as he called out. "Valkyrie, Rakunda!"

In front of the teen, appeared an unusually figure that seemed to be a woman riding on a horse. It took Makoto's breath away. It seemed to do something to the shadowy knight figure, though it didn't seem to be physically effected.

Then it was Yosuke's turn as he seem to shatter something unseen with his knives. "Jiraiya, Bash!"

A strange ninja frog looking figure (honestly, Makoto had no idea how to describe what it looked like), spun something that looked like yellow shuriken towards the monster as it charged and that seemed to do some physical damage judging by the swaying of the night.

Chie followed up with her kicks, the sound of something breaking clear as day as a woman like figure in yellow with a spear appeared. "Tomoe, Tarukaja!"

The strange yellow phantom swung her spear as the air around Yosuke seemed to shift for a moment.

Makoto's eyes were still wide as he saw the knight charge at Yu, the gray haired second year taking a bit of a hit. "Those things…."

Yu only smirked, seeming to not want to show any pain. "Those….are Personas. Anyway, physical seems to be out. Let's see if this thing's got an elemental weakness."

The two brunets nodded in unison. "Right!"

Just before they could put that plan of finding things out into action, several smaller shadows seemed to appear from the corners of the room. The beings of darkness sensed the intruders and charged towards where the team was fighting the knight.

Yosuke seemed to be really annoyed with this. "Damnit! We can't be distracted right now!"

Makoto didn't hesitate for a second as eh charged towards where the smaller shadows were. "You guys focus on the knight, I'll take care of these small fry!"

Yu nodded to him before returning to their fight. "Got it!"

The blue haired third year poisoned his sword deftly as he charged.

In that moment, as the blobs transformed into their regular balls of white and black stripes with rather enormous tongues, the beings seemed to hesitate for a moment. They seemed like they almost wanted to run away from the senior which caused him to muse. _Well, I guess these things do have some sense of intelligence to them with the wariness to danger and the ability to coordinate themselves. The question is, how much?_

Still, it seemed their desire to fight outweighed any sense of self-preservation as they met the blue haired teen's challenge. Veteran or newbie, the Shadows would take whatever they could get.

Mentally, Makoto simply shrugged. _Ah well, their mistake._

It took only a few strikes of his sword to take care of the shadowy creatures. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it as several more shadows formed and charged at him.

The blue haired teen simply sighed as he dispatched them just as quickly. Once those had been taken care of, he turned his irritated expression to the corners of the room, as if saying '_Anybody else want to try?"_

After a few moments, it didn't seem like there were any more Shadows forming so Makoto turned back to where the three were still going at the big knight.

Chie was talking at that moment, avoiding the knight lunging at her. "Damn it, nothing phases this guy!"

Yu called out to the two, worry clear in his voice. "How are you two holding up?"

Yosuke called as he went towards the knight with a physical attack. "I'm good!"

Chie answered with worry. "I'm running low on SP. Those fights earlier had me use Bufu a lot."

Yu looked really annoyed. "Damn it and our supplies are pretty low…"

Makoto ran over to the gray haired leader, digging through his pockets and showing what he collected from the castle earlier. "Would any of these help?"

The gray haired leader only had to take one glance before jerking his head towards Chie. "Throw the bead over there, it should help!"

Makoto did just that, with Chie catching it perfectly, the short haired girl swallowed the bead and smiled off to the blue haired boy. "Thanks!"

Yosuke seemed to return to his former positon as the knight seemed to be using the spell earlier on himself again (Tarukaja). "Damn it! We've tried just about everything! Zio, Garu, Bufu…."

Chie chimed in her thoughts at that moment. "Maybe it's weak to light or dark…. or maybe it doesn't have a weakness."

Teddie chimed in, remind the party that he was there in his boisterous tone. "No, there's a weakness! But I don't know what it is…."

Makoto made his voice loud and clear. "Well, what else haven't you guys tried?!"

Yosuke seemed to perk up as his mind found the answer. "Wait! Agi! One of your other Personas have to have it!"

Yu cringed before he answered. "Ukobach had it, but I just let it go for a Persona that dropped earlier."

Yosuke's voice went rather shrill at the answer. "Seriously?!"

His leader replied rather defensively. "Hey, how was I supposed to know that we were going to need Agi in the next important fight?!"

Makoto's voice rose he addressed the two with authority. "Would you two knock it off and focus on the battle?!"

"Right!" Surprisingly, both seemed to do as he said and after a moment had surprised expression at themselves. The way that Makoto sounded, so direct and clear, made it sound like he had been used to giving these kinds of orders.

But before they could think on that further, the shadow knight charged at Yosuke landing a pretty critical hit and knocking him to the ground. "GAH!"

Yu and Chie both had matching expressions of worry as they called to their friend and comrade. "YOSUKE!"

But before they could move, Makoto was standing between the knife wielder and the Shadow. Using his sword to parry the knight's attacks, he then motioned to the two to where the corners were, noticeably getting darker. "I'll hold him off here! You guys take care of the things that are about to come crawling out of the woodwork!"

For a moment, Chie glanced at Yu, unsure whether or not to follow. In that moment, dark gray eyes stared down light silver gray. For Makoto, it felt as if time had stopped. He had no idea why, but he was sure that he had seen those eyes before. Before Inaba…or was it before…?

Then the moment passed and Yu nodded to the blue haired teen. He then turned his attention to Chie, motioning to the Shadows that were starting to take shape in the corner. "Come on!"

Chie was unsettled for only a moment before following her leader and friend. "Right!"

As the two teens went to intercept the small fry, Makoto was defending the fallen brunet with only a short sword against some knight eldritch abomination. _Even so, I think this does not even hit the top ten of the strangest things I have ever done._

Human and Shadow seemed to stay in that stance for several minutes, neither one backing down in the least. He didn't even turn around as he addressed Yosuke. "Are you alright?"

Yosuke cringed as he started to make it to his feet. "Took a nasty hit, but I think I'll be fine."

Just as Makoto was about to ask again to make sure, the knight charged again knocking him to the side and sending his short sword towards the other side of the room. "AGH!"

Chie and Yu noticed this, still dealing with their small Shadows, but Chie still yelled to the blue haired sempai. "Makoto-sempai!"

Yu rushed next to Chie, ready to help her finish up the last of them. "Come on!"

The girl in the green jacket merely nodded, the two working as quick as they could.

That left Yosuke on his own, with only his knives and his Persona that he could possibly call. He simply winced. "Great, guess it's all on me for now."

As Yosuke seemed to be summoning Jiraiya for another attack, Makoto got up, shaking himself off slightly. He saw his sword, but as he saw Yosuke in front of him wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer. But what choice did he have? He needed to help Yosuke now and he needed a weapon to do so!

"_But…don't you already have one?"_

And then, his brain stopped as that echoing familiar voice resounded through his mind. The scene of the red plush castle faded away into something…. that felt….familiar…..

_The huge moon was glowing above them on that roof, the eerie green tint filing the night puddles of blood were scattered around._

_In front of him, a large shadowy blob with a huge amount of arms and only a blue mask for a face stared him down._

_A girl was laying down on the ground, brown hair, a pink sweater with a red bow in the front. The monster had knocked her down, but it was clear even before she was the girl was not in the right mind to fight that thing._

_Lying right in front of him in one of the puddles of blood, was the gun that had been knocked from the girl's hands. _

_The monster didn't seem to care much about him as he focused on the helpless girl lying on the ground._

_The image of a very creepy and familiar small child flashed through his mind, creepy electric blue eyes boring in him with expectation. __**"Go on."**_

_Without really thinking about, he bent to pick up the gun. As he held it, he heard his own heartbeat quicken as he remembered the girl who had put the gun to her head, trying to shoot herself but couldn't seem to._

_He slowly put the gun to the side of his head. Had it been any other circumstance, it would seem like he was about to commit suicide. But something told him that this was the only way._

_His lips began to mouth some words as his trigger finger twitched in something like anticipation…_

And just like that the seen was gone and Makoto Yuki was back in the castle watching Yosuke having been knocked to ground once more with the knight looming over him. Yu and Chie were still busy with other Shadows and it seemed like he was the only one free to do something.

In that moment, something in his brain snapped as he went into his jacket and pulled out his strange gun. Which looked strangely like the gun he had used in that weird illusion.

His heartbeat picked up at that moment, but it wasn't in fear or dread.

No, it was anticipation.

He calmly held the gun in one hand, slowly bringing it to press to the side of his head.

What it looked like to the other two (Yosuke currently a little too preoccupied by the fact that this might be the end for him and Teddie not seeming to get what was happening), was what any other person would probably thought in this situation as Yu yelled at him. "Sempai, stop!"

Chie nodded in agreement as she finally took care of the last of the small Shadows with a well-placed kick. "Yeah, suicide is never the answer!"

But Makoto only barely heard them, the finger twitching as his breathing slowed and he whispered his next word with a smile. "Per….so….na!"

With that, the trigger was pulled, but instead of a one-way trip to the afterlife that many might expected from such an action, the familiar sound of shattering glass resounded and the effects of glass seemed to swirl around him. Finally, they gathered into the air and formed into a strange silvery being. The being had a strange facial resemblance to Makoto with a red scarf and a harp like object on its back.

This event seemed to stop everything in the room. Chie and Yu, who had been charging over to get to Yosuke and stop their sempai from suicide, halted in their tracks with their eyes wide. The other boy they had been rushing to save had noticed the knight directing his attention elsewhere

The being seemed to tilted its head down to its wielder and speak, the voice strangely reminiscent of Makoto and yet had something that was completely its own. Something Makoto knew he had heard before. **"Thou art I….and I am Thou. From the sea of thy soul, I come. I am Orpheus, Master of Strings."**

Chie seemed to not believe what she was seeing as Yu remained silent though noticeably shaken. "It can't be…"

Yosuke was less coherent. "Whoa…."

The shadowy knight seemed to still as Makoto turned his silver gray eyes on him.

He felt the words escape his mouth without really thinking about it. "Orpheus, Agi!"

The strange silvery musician played on his harp as fire erupted around the knight, making it take a noticeable hit. The knight seemed to droop a bit and he seemed to shrink back from the new Persona user.

Teddie seemed to squeal at the hit. "That's it! That's the weakness!"

Makoto leaned over to where Yosuke was lying, offering a hand to fallen brunet. "Are you alright?"

Yosuke dug through his pockets as he put something and his mouth and chewed it, Yu and Chie coming up from behind the two of them. "I will be after I swallow this."

Yu seemed to observe the interaction before addressing Makoto. "Think you could do that again?"

He nodded to the gray haired teen. "Definitely."

Yu nodded as he addressed the three as a whole. "Alright, get into position! It looks like it might be on its last legs."

The three nodded to him, easily getting into a four-man team position and surrounded the shadowy knight. The being seemed to lunge at Chie, but she seemed to dodge it very clearly. She followed that up with her own kicks.

Yu then charged after the knight with his katana, yelling orders to the other two. "Yosuke, do a physical attack! Makoto-sempai, use Agi again!"

Yosuke charged right in with his knifes after Yu's katana made a hit. "Got it!"

Makoto lined up his gun back into positon, repeating his earlier action. "Orpheus, Agi!"

That seemed to hit another critical hit on the shadow knight as it seemed to slump even more to the floor.

Teddie cried out in excitement. "That's it! One more attack ought to do it!"

Makoto quickly pressed the gun back towards his head, crying out once more. "Orpheus, Agi!"

And just as Teddie had predicated, with that last attack of flames the shadowy creature dissipated leaving just the four humans and the strange blue bear creature in the room. It seemed as though Yu saw something on the floor as he leaned down towards the carpeting.

It was then that the garbled Yukiko's voice resounded through the room again. _"If you really are my Prince, then we will surely meet again. I am but a trapped soul…. I cannot leave this place even if I wished…."_

Then all was quiet once again, leaving the teens alone with their thoughts.

Yosuke seemed utterly relieved as Chie stopped over to him. "Man, that was close!"

As soon as he finished saying that, however, Chie smacked the side of his arm. That made him flinch, glaring at her as rubbed the part of the arm that had been slapped. "OW! Chie, what was that for!"

"That's for making you worry, you idiot!"

Makoto simply had one eyebrow rise as he observed the two brown haired teens seemed to descend into a childish squabble. "Wow, are they always like this?"

Teddie toddled up to where the blue haired teen was and answered. "I don't know, I'm not around them all that much."

Teddie then turned to Makoto, smiling at the older teen. "But that was amazing! I didn't know there were other ways to summon Personas."

He simply shrugged at the bear. "I honestly didn't know I could do that until less than a couple of minutes ago."

"Still, it was really cool. Just like Sensei!"

Not really needing to know who 'Sensei' was, Makoto finally noticed Yu Narukami's actions and called out to him. "Found something?"

The gray haired teen rose up, holding up a glass key and smiled. "Who wants to be this is for the stairs up to the next floor?"

Yosuke shook his head, the two seeming to come out of their fight (though form the look on their faces it seemed to be far from over). "No bet, your luck is crazy partner."

Chie seemed to perk up at that. "Then that means we can….!"

Yu interrupted her then, giving the young woman a clear dose of reality. "Chie, stop. We just fought a really intense battle and we're practically running on fumes. I think it's time we call it quits for today."

"But…!"

"Yukiko will still be fine. Besides, if it turns out like what happened with you and Yosuke, then we'll want to face Yukiko's Shadow at full strength. We'll open the door to the stairs, but after that we are heading back."

Chie seemed to want to fight back, but did listen and finally nodded. "Alright."

Makoto walked over to where the three had gathered with Teddie toddling right beside him. "I suppose you want some answers out of me?"

Yu nodded, his eyes like steel as he bore into Makoto's silvery orbs. "Yes. Likewise, for you?"

The blue haired teen nodded, finally brining up a rather unusual question. "Yes, but give that I'm the one that's out of place here I think you're the ones that are going first. Though before we get into that, mind telling me why you guys are wearing glasses? I'm pretty sure you guys didn't wear them before."

That seemed to take all of them a little aback (mostly just for the strangeness of the question) before Yu spoke. "Oh, that. Well, you see all the fog around us?"

Makoto nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, I was lucky enough to navigate this place with all the fog. I take it that that's pretty normal?"

Teddie held up a paw with another pair of glasses, one that was very similar in style to Yu's ad and Yosuke's only it had the prime color as blue that seemed to match Makoto's hair. "Here, put these on."

The blue haired teen took the glasses cautiously as Yosuke commented. "I didn't know you had another pair of those, Teddie."

"Oh, I thought it was good idea to start making more of these."

Makoto gave the glasses a cursory inspection before putting them on. And just like the fog around him was gone and saw the plush palace around him in great detail. "Whoa."

Yosuke nodded sagely. "Yeah, that was my reaction."

Makoto nodded before glancing off towards Teddie. "Okay. And the bear…?"

Yu seemed to sigh before his expression seemed to give in. "Follow us, we'll explain on the way."

* * *

**V.E.: You know, I actually planned for this to go on a bit longer, but frankly I am about 3.7 k words and I am honestly at my limit for this chapter. I swear we will get into explanations and the Velvet Room next chapter. That's when I'll explain how Makoto's Personas are going to work for this story.**

**Spoiler: He won't have all his Personas.**

**Well, I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long…oh wait, last time I updated was March. At least I got it done before the end of the month. Well, I think I'll be doing a oneshot before I go into Princess of Egypt. I know this wasn't a particularly strong chapter, but hey I'm terrible at action scenes.**

**Make sure to review and I hope to see you guys next time.**


	12. The Velvet Room

**V.E.: I know, it was July the last time I updated this. Give me credit that this isn't being updated in July 2017. I once knew an author that only updated once a year and it's been over a year since she posted last. This is going to be an easier chapter considering I knew how I wanted the Velvet Room and the Wild Card power to work this time around.**

**Now I know many of you are unhappy with how the last boss fight went. Firstly, I am not a good action/battle scene person. I have repeated this many times. My strengths lie in my characterization and the balance I apply to character relationships. Secondly, Minato is currently physically overpowered compared to his kohais (opposite of sempai in Japan), but this is not true Persona wise, I will explain that this chapter in which Minato will officially join the Investigation Squad.**

**Well, I know you guys want to jump so let's do so.**

**RIP that which was lost in 2016.**

**Quote: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."- Helen Keller**

* * *

"So…. let me see if I get this straight…."

Walking down a path that he had originally been guided through by a flying glowing blue insect, Makoto was now accompanied by his three juniors as well as what looked to be a bear mascot of some kind (after everything that had just gone down in the castle, he was willing to listen to anything that would make all of this make sense). It hadn't taken long after heading out the castle's doors for Yu and Yosuke to explain the whole story. Occasionally, Chie and Teddie would interrupt with commentary which was either informative or just trying to make some sort of pun (Makoto didn't know why but for some reason the first Teddie pun gave off the feeling of _Oh no, not another one _in his mind).

Suffice to say, the picture he was getting was bat shit insane by anyone's standards, but Makoto barely batted an eye as he recapped the important bits. "The kidnappings slash murders are supernatural in nature with the perpetrator throwing them into TVs and leaving them to die via the Shadows when the fog lifts, which is inverse to our own fog. The Midnight Channel is not a rumor, but instead of showing your soulmate it shows a shadow of the next person that will be thrown into this world. And Yukiko is the current victim and you guys have to get to her before it is too late and her Shadow attacks her."

Yosuke nodded uneasily, a little surprised at how well the blue haired teen was taking all of this. "That's…. actually pretty much it."

"And the way you fight Shadows is using your Personas, who used to be your own Shadows." For some reason, that bit of information seemed to click something in Makoto's brain, but he ignored it for right now.

Chie nodded to before she cast her eyes at Narukami. "Yeah, though sempai and Narukami-san seem to be exceptions."

Yu sighed. "Chie, it's okay to call me Yu, alright?"

The brown haired athletic nodded and smiled before casting a wary glance at the gray-haired leader. "I know, I just didn't want to make it sound too confusing to Makoto sempai. Anyway, me and Yosuke are only capable of using one Persona whereas Yu can use multiple ones, though he has yet to tell us exactly how that works."

Yu simply fixed a deadpan expression at her. "Chie, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyway."

Makoto shook his head. "I don't know why, but even though I know this sounds crazy, my mind is completely at ease."

Yosuke and Chie looked a little surprised at that, Yosuke glancing to his best friend. "Wow, you know Yu it looks like sempai might have you beat in the 'keep calm in all circumstances' department."

His friend simply sighed. "Yosuke, not the time for jokes."

The blue haired teen then glanced back at the bear mascot. "And the bear….?"

Yu quickly responded. "We have absolutely no idea who or what he is."

Teddie simply smiled, which looked surprisingly natural for a life size bear plushie thing. "I don't remember much, only that this world had always been peaceful before someone started throwing people in here. Then I met Sensei and the others and they promised to help me out."

Makoto nodded, his eyes narrowing as he thought. "So basically, you guys are trying to find the person who's been throwing people in here. Sounds simple enough, but I doubt it's like that at all."

Yosuke seemed lower his head in gloom as he replied. "I'll say, we don't have anything outside of this world to really go from."

Chie nodded with determination. "That's why it's super important to rescue Yukiko. Sempai, are you sure there is nothing else you can tell us about the day Yukiko disappeared?"

The feelings of irritation rose in his mind, but Makoto squashed them quickly as he remembered his trip to the police station. "Honestly, after going over it three times with Yu's uncle, I think I would have remembered anything significant. Like I said before, Yukiko and I were going to clean the baths when someone rang at the door. There was no one else around so Yukiko went to answer it while I went off to clean the baths. I cleaned the entire bath and it wasn't until after that when I was talking with her parents did we find out she was missing."

Yosuke seemed to perk up at that. "You're sure about the doorbell?"

"Positive, that's the last time I saw her."

Then the image of the blue butterfly flashed in his brain as his mouth ran away from his head. "Speaking of small details, you wouldn't have to have seen a blue….?"

His voice trailed off as both Yosuke and Chie looked at him weirdly, Yu's expression the utter epitome of the poker face.

He sighed as he gave up. For some reason, he felt a need to keep the bug to himself for now. "Never mind. I think I'm good on questions."

He then looked towards Yu, whom he knew was the one he had to convince. "Ask away."

The younger student wasted no time. "How were you able to come to this world?"

"The same way you could, I stuck my body into the…."

Yu cut him off curtly. "Not what I meant. Up until we now, we thought the only other person who would be able to come to this world was the killer. And now it turns out you're able to do it as well? Seems a little too suspicious to me."

Chie looked at him worried. "Yu…."

Yosuke put a hand a on her shoulder, making turn to him. The brunet boy shook his head and motioned back to their leader. She got the message and quieted down, both focusing their attention on the discussion going on.

The gray-haired boy continued, his tone even but carrying an underlying accusation. "And up until now, you haven't shown any interest in what we were doing. After you find out we've been here. It's funny that all of these things started happening right after you come to town."

Makoto merely raised an eyebrow at the teen leader. "Couldn't the same be said of yourself? As I recall, you and I were on the same train that came to Inaba. We both entered this world without gaining a Persona from the Shadows. And the both of us have met or were tangentially connected to the three victims so far."

That made Yu cringe, causing Yosuke and Chie to tense up with the male brunet defending their friend. "Hey, Yu is innocent!"

The blue haired teen shook his head. "And I think so as well. However, there is a difference between the two of us that anyone who would investigate in the real world would notice right away."

Chie asked the question. "Which is?"

He shot a dry look at the three, mostly at Narukami. "_I _have an alibi. The night Saki Konishi was killed, at least half a dozen people at the Amagi Inn could verify me working a big party. If you don't believe me, ask your uncle."

Yu's expression refused to budge as he countered. "That doesn't mean you couldn't have pushed her in to TV earlier than that."

The blue haired teen nodded before he went on. "That's true, but you're operating under the assumption that the police would believe you in regards to "pushing her into a TV." After all, isn't the fact that you guys know that no one will believe you that you're taking care of this yourselves?"

That got the three to cringe, looking at each other as if debating what their next move was.

Makoto went on in a firm voice. "Which would be the same reason I haven't told anyone about my own situation until now."

Yu perked up in interest. "Your situation?"

Yosuke nodded before asking as well. "Yeah, what are you talking about?"

The blue haired teen took a deep breath before he began what was bound to be a very complicated explanation. "I wasn't being completely forthright with everyone, but given what little information I had, I decided to play along in hopes of figuring out the truth. But you guys have told me your secret so it only makes sense to share mine."

Chie looked utterly questioning at her sempai. "Makoto-sempai, what do you mean?"

He let out a dry chuckle at that. "Well for starters, I'm not sure whether that even is my real name."

That got the attention of the trio and Teddie, Yosuke's eyes widening as he seemed to ask for the group. "What?"

"Makoto" nodded. "The first memory I have is waking up on the train to Inaba. Anything before that is an outright blank. The only clue I had to who I am was at the time were the documents I had on the seat next to me. I followed those to the Amagi Inn to find that they were expecting me. My records….this _guardian _of mine…..I don't know what the truth is.

"The only thing I've heard that rings a bell….is _Persona_."

That got the small group to collectively flinch as Teddie seemed to ask a question. "Wait…do you mean to say you know something about Shadows and Personas, Sempai?"

The blue haired teen scratched his hair as he thought, looking around at the unreal world around them. "I don't know how I'm connected to them, but those terms do spark something in my mind. I don't think I've ever been to this world before, and yet…back there fighting that thing, it all felt so familiar. Like I'm used to risking my life to these things."

Chie tried to jump into the conversation with an unsure expression. "That's…. kind of…."

Makoto commented wryly. "Incredibly suspicious? The most obvious bullshit of a plot convenience? I know. Listen, I don't have any real proof for you guys to believe me…. but still, you deserved an answer with all the other questions you must have."

That seemed to put the three humans into some doubt while Teddie was the one to step forward, his eyes burdened with understanding. "I may not understand everything you humans go through, but it seems to me like you and I are in the same situation. None of us know how we got here or what we really mean in all this."

Makoto stopped to consider that for a moment. "That's…. a pretty good summarization. Though, I don't know whether I'm connected to this situation or I'm just random element. All I can say is that I feel I'll get more answers if I follow this to the end. Which leads me to ask…."

The blue haired teen turned to three underclassmen and bowed his head towards them. "Please let me join you."

That seemed to surprised Narukami while the other two seemed to look to their leader for the verdict. The gray-haired teen seemed to ponder the question for a while before looking up. "Say it again."

Makoto wasn't sure whether he heard that right. "Excuse me?"

"What you just said about your memory and this case, say it again."

The blue haired teen saw what Yu was getting at with all this, but straightened his posture and did as requested. "I don't remember anything prior to waking up on that train, but I do know that I DID NOT kill anyone in Inaba. I SWEAR."

Yu stared at his sempai intently for several moments, as if trying to catch him a in a lie. Finally, he smiled and nodded. "Well then, welcome to the Investigation Team."

Makoto felt a little surprise at the ease of acceptance. "Wait, you really believe?"

Yu's smile was a mix of amusement and incredulous as he responded. "I was on the train with you, remember? And I found it really weird how I went to sleep with no one in the compartment, only to wake with someone that looked my age after a really crazy dream. As if you were some spirit or a ghost…"

Makoto Yuki felt his eyes widen in understanding. "Oh, so that's why you've been like that. Though I'm pretty sure I'm human."

"Noted. Anyway, you're too good of addition to this team for me not to say yes."

Yosuke nodded as he elaborated in his own way. "Yeah, this way we have four fighters against the Shadows. Five, if we count Teddie as our support. Either way, the more the merrier."

Chie also added in her thoughts. "And judging by the way you used your sword back there, you definitely have more experience with weapons than we do."

Makoto patted where his sword was stashed. "Yeah, compared to summoning my Persona, it just came to me much more naturally. Of course, now I'm kind of at a dead end in this world when it comes to my past."

Yosuke inquired further into that. "Well, it's not like helping you goes against what we're doing so we'll help you out with your memory. You sure you don't have anything else that could be a clue?"

Makoto held up his gun in one hand while his other dug through his pocket. "Other than this strange gun and this weird key that made its way into pocket out of nowhere, I'm pretty much out of clues right now?"

That got Yu's attention at least. "Key?"

Makoto nodded, his gun being put back into place as his he brought the blue key out of his pocket. "Yeah, strange looking thing, but I feel like I can't throw it away or…."

But before Makoto could further elaborate on that, Yu grabbed his wrist and brought the key closer to him for inspection. Obviously startling the blue haired teen, he made his thoughts known aloud. "Hey, what the…?!"

Then he saw Narukami's utterly shocked face as he looked at the strange blue key. The gray-haired teen went to his own pocket before pulling out something that made his mind stop.

An identical blue key. From the color to the insignia, the two were exactly the same.

Of the utterly shocked teens, Yosuke was the first one to voice his thoughts. "Whoa! They're…!"

Yu sighed deeply. "I should have figured…."

Chie seemed to follow his train of thought. "Yu, do you know what this key is for?"

He nodded, letting go of Makoto's wrist and began walking again. "Yeah, I do, but let's get back to the entrance first."

Makoto blinked for a moment before he recovered. "Wait, you're not going to say what this is for? And how come you have one?"

Yu seemed like he was having a mild headache as he answered his sempai. "Trust me when I say it's something you have to see rather than hear about."

The blue haired teen nodded curtly and followed in line behind him. "Fine."

Yosuke and Chie glance to each other before following along.

Teddie's expression made it clear he really didn't really understand what was so important about the key (though looking at it did make him feel a little funny) so he just followed along after the group.

It was pretty much silent for the rest of the way back (bar a few weak Shadows that took less than a minute to beat down) which left Makoto to his thoughts to ponder this new clue.

Yet as much as he was glad to finally be getting _somewhere _in his search, another part of him was also a little apprehensive. Yu Narukami was a relatively level headed individual, so what was it about this key that made him so…._ exasperated_?

He still wanted answers, but still it was probably best to be cautious with whatever was coming next. _I've got a bad feeling about this._

Finally, the small group came back to the small area form where they had come in from with the entrance back to reality. But this time there was something else there that stopped Makoto in his tracks.

A bright blue door with golden accents floated in the air not too far away.

He felt his arm raise and his hand point to the door, but his mind felt strangely disconnected from this turn of event. "Uhh….'

Yu just nodded at him. "Oh good, so you do see it."

"That was not here when I came in. I'm pretty sure I would have seen that, fog or not."

The gray-haired teen paused to consider that piece of information before going on. "Well, you see it now. No mistake then."

Before Makoto could ask what the meant by that, Yosuke interrupted the two in confusion. "Uh, what are you guys talking about? There's nothing there."

The blue hared teen was about to throw an incredulous look over at the brown-haired teen before Naurkami sent him a _Look_. He got the message immediately. _Only those with a key can see the door._

When he saw that his sempai got the message clearly, he walked over to Teddie, handing over the group's small bag of stuff as well as the katana he had been using (who seemed to have been designated the storage person). The other two did the same with their weapons. "Anyway, you guys head on without us. We'll meet up same time tomorrow."

Chie nodded. "Got it."

Yosuke nodded as well, glancing to Makoto for a moment. "Alright, partner. See you tomorrow, Makoto-sempai."

Teddie waved the two off. "See you two tomorrow then!"

The two waved back at the bear with a smile before heading over to the TV portal. Yosuke went first with Chie following him, leaving Teddie, Makoto, and Yu by themselves.

Teddie then smiled at Yu. "I'll make sure things are okay, alright Sensei?"

Yu nodded with a small smile. "Good. Thanks again for taking care of our weapons and supplies when we're not here Teddie."

The blue bear's smile just wider. "No problem!"

Then Yu turned to Makoto, motioning with head to the door. Makoto followed and the two stood before the slightly glowing floating door. Yu spoke to him in a calm tone. "I can't guarantee you'll find all your answers behind this door. The people there aren't the most direct."

Makoto's silver eyes went steely as he faced the door. "Even so, I'll take my chances."

Yu didn't respond to that, merely placing a hand on his shoulder. Whose sake that was for, who could say?

He brought out his key. As he fitted it into the key hole, he felt his body tinge with anticipation. As if it knew what was coming, knew that there was no danger to enter this strange door, but somewhere he could find rest.

The key turned and a white light blinded him to his surroundings and himself…..

* * *

Blue.

That was the first thought that came to Makoto when he came back to his senses. Almost everything in his immediate sight was blue, though the shapes were not as clearly defined.

A few blinks of his eyes later however, things took on definite forms. He was sitting on something rather plush feeling (probably the same color blue as everything else in this place) and just by the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, he didn't have to turn his head to know Narukami was right next to him. Above them was a light blue chandelier that gave light to the place, as well as blue drappings.

_The place_, now that Makoto could see more of the details, seemed to be the inside of a very posh limo. He could see windows showing an eerie fog outside, thicker than even the fog of the TV World. There was another blue seating near them, the adjacent side holding a variety of different alcohols and glasses.

But what drew his interest was the small blue table in front of him and the three that were seated around it. On the right, a young woman with platinum blonde hair and golden eyes sat in a blue dress with golden edgings, black tights, a massive book in her lap, and blue heels. She seemed rather mature and sophisticated, but for some reason Makoto couldn't help but feel like she reminded him of someone. He was sure he'd never met _her_, but maybe someone like her?

On the left, was a black-haired girl that took a moment to place. Then his eyes widened slightly as he realized it was that girl he met the first day in Inaba. The only differences were the new blue hat and bag; her expression of bored contempt was all too familiar. He thought she had been ordinary, but considering she was here, she obviously had some part to play.

But the most striking of the three was the man in the middle. Body leaning forward that made him look almost hunched, fine black suit with white gloves, wide eyes, pointed ears, and a big permeant grin on his face. Yet for how unsettling the man might appear to some people, there was something about this man that set Makoto at ease. He may not have his memory, but he _knew _this man.

The man's eyes seemed to glint upon seeing Makoto, his smile seemed to widen even further. "Well, welcome to the Velvet Room. Or, as I should be saying, welcome back. It has been quite some time."

By his side, Yu Narukami was not surprised in the least by this development. _So, he's a guest of this place too._

Makoto bowed his head to the man. "I'm sorry. I…I know you, but I don't remember you."

Far from being upset, the grinning man just nodded his head. "Ah yes, as to be expected. Very well then, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Igor, overseer of the Velvet Room."

The blue haired teen turned to get a good look at his blue surroundings. "And I take it this is the Velvet Room?"

Igor nodded. "Indeed. This places exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter…. though I must admit, I did not expect to ever see you again."

The blonde woman on the right seemed to be startled at that as her gaze to shock at Makoto. "Wait, then this is…But how?!"

The black-haired girl, who had been silent up to that point, finally spoke. "Huh? What's up with this guy?"

Makoto nodded toward the girl. "Nice to see you again."

Her face seemed to indicate she did not recognize him at all. "Have we met?"

"You picked up my phone the first day I was Inaba, told me it wasn't anything special for just picking something up."

That brought something of a spark to her green eyes. "Oh yeah…. I did do that."

Igor then cleared his throat, reminding the two ladies of their duties which quieted them down. He then resumed talking. "Pardon the interruption. The Velvet Room exists to help those on their journey, taking the shape of whatever is suited for the current guest. Even if you had your memory back, this is vastly different from the Velvet Room you knew."

Yu spoke up then. "So, he's a past guest of this place."

Igor nodded to his current guest before turning back to Makoto. "As a matter of fact, he is your direct predecessor. Which leads us to an interesting quandary. You had completed your journey young man and had passed on your Power of the Wild Card. By all means, your contract is over. And yet here you are."

Makoto tilted his head wryly. "And yet somehow, I get the impression you know more than you're saying."

The old man let out a small chuckle at that. "Perhaps, but even if I do know, I cannot tell you. It is the job of the Velvet Room to give aid with Personas and occasionally advice, but it is against the rules to tell of things directly. You must discover those things on your own."

The blue haired teen sighed. "Well, that makes things _easy_."

"I can tell you this; the answer you are currently pursuing and the answer that our current guest is pursuing is intertwined in some manner. Though exactly how they are connected, you must find out for yourself."

That caused Yu and Makoto to look at each other. For a moment, Makoto seemed to understand what Yu was thinking. _He trusts me now that I've let all my cards on the table and because of Igor. I'm still kind of suspicious, but he trusts me for now._

Then the pale blonde woman spoke up. "Sir, if he is here, then what about…?"

Igor raised his hand, quieting her. "Hush, Margaret. I know that what you must be thinking about, but it is not our duty to look into that. Our job is to our guests."

Margaret did not look happy about that, but nodded curtly. "Yes Master."

She shot a rather cold glare at Makoto before facing away from him.

Which all it did was serve to puzzle the young man. _Yeesh, what'd I do?"_

Igor proceeded on as if nothing really happened. "Well if you are here, then it means you meant to be here and have regained your powers as a Wild Card. Allow me to bring up your old contract then."

The old man held one of his gloved hands over the small table and a small flash of light happened. It disappeared, leaving a crumpled old paper behind. His other hand pulled a pen out of his suit's pocket, reaching out with it towards the two boys. "If you wish to proceed as you are, simply sign the name you have now."

Makoto got up to take the pen. "You can't even tell me what my real name is?"

The old man shook his head. "No. After all, names have power."

With that mysterious little tidbit, Makoto turned his attention to the old paper on the table. At the bottom where a person would sign their name, it seemed as if the name that had been signed had been erased with only a vague after image of what had been there. As for the rest of the paper, it simply stated **'I chooseth this fate of my own free will.'**

He bent over the paper signing on the line **Makoto Yuki**.

As soon as he lifted the pen from the paper, the old contract glowed before turning into a ball of light and shooting itself into the big book that was on Margaret's lap, which seemed to shock once more the usually unflappable attendant. "What in the…?!"

The black-haired girl piped up then. "I take it that's not normal here."

Igor shook his head before motioning Makoto to return to his seat by Yu. "No, it is not. Then again, there is much in this situation that is unprecedented. Never have we had two Wild Cards as guests at the same time."

Once the blue haired teen sat back down, Igor continued. "It seems as if the presence of two Wild Cards has altered the situation. It might be because you are incapable of accessing your old Personas other than Orpheus, but it seems that you are now tied to Narukami's Personas."

Yu asked on that. "What does that mean?"

Igor turned to Yu then. "It means that the both of you must rely on the Personas you have forged so far. In battle, you can only draw from the ones you have selected for your team and neither of you can use the same Persona at a time. However, this does mean you two can switch up your roles in battle, unlike your comrades."

Yu nodded before asking on. "What about Izanagi?"

Igor seemed to understand what he was getting at, later turning back to the other teen on the plush couch. "Don't worry, young man. Unlike the other Personas you gain either through battle or fusion, Izanagi came directly from your soul. Only you can use him and the same goes with you and Orpheus. They are unique to the two of you."

Yu nodded before he turned to Makoto. "Well, I guess this means we _really _are going to be working with each other. Anything you'd like to say to that?"

Makoto considered it for a moment before responding. "I'll follow your lead for the most part considering you're the leader for this and these are your Personas. Still, I am going to need to know what they're all capable of so we can work together in battle."

"Anything else?"

"Right now, I want to just save Yukiko. Anything involving my memories and everything else can wait until after she's safe."

Yu's smiel seemed to be hinting at approval as he nodded with finality. "Alright then."

Igor then cleared his throat, bringing the two's attention back onto himself. "Before you return to where you came from, I would like to say a few things. This occurrence has never happened before and there is much even I cannot foresee. Yet the two of you are tied to each and I feel that this is but the least of what is to come. Remember that as you move forward.

Igor then motioned to the blue clothed attendant. "And now I suppose I should introduce these two for your sake. Margaret will be help with fusion as well as keeping track of your compendium of Personas."

Margaret simply nodded curtly to them.

Igor then turned to his right, where the black-haired girl was. "And this is Marie. Her focus is skill cards which will serve you greatly."

Marie seemed rather un affected by the man's praise, ready to roll her eyes. "Alright, but don't you even think about looking through my stuff when I'm not here."

Igor then turned back to the boys. "And with that out of the way, I'd say your business here is concluded?"

Narukami glanced to Makoto for a moment before nodding. "Yes sir."

Igor's smile was he same as ever as he spoke. "Well, in that case, I bid you fair well. Until we meet again."

With those words, the blue of the limousine became white as everything faded away.

The lost thought Makoto had was that this would not be the last time he would enter the Velvet Room.

* * *

**V.E.:…..yeah, I hoped to get this done before 2017. I know, I'm terrible. **

**I hope the handicap I've given Minato makes sense to you guys. I thought it was clever.**

**Anyway, now I've got Luffy to get back to before Princess of Egypt. My stories are never satisfied.**

**Hope you have a happy new year (goodness knows 2016 will not be a year many look back on with fondness) and please leave a review. I'm currently at over 5500 words at this time. **

**See you all next time!**


End file.
